We Were Shocked By Those Behind Pension Fraud – EFCC

Posted by admin EFCC Politics Saturday, May 26th, 2012

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Friday, voiced its shock over the identity of those involved in the pension fraud and the brazen manner it was perpetrated.

The Commission’s Chairman, Ibrahim Lamorde while speaking at a workshop organised in Abuja by the Certified Pension Institute of Nigeria (CPIN), stated that “it (the fraud) was not so much the mind-boggling amount of money that was stolen as the brazen way the looting was carried out and who was doing the stealing that shocked us at the EFCC.”

A statement issued by EFCC spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, quoted Lamorde as saying that the spectre of fraudulent activities in pension administration in the country was an abuse of public trust.

In Lamorde’s paper to the workshop entitled Sustaining the Public Confidence in the Face of Financial Mismanagement and Corruption,” presented on his behalf by Mr. Wakili Mohammed, Director Internal Affairs, the EFCC boss bemoaned the mind-boggling scam in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Pension Office.

Lamenting the paradox between the country’s huge natural resource endowment and widespread poverty, Lamorde blamed the nation’s woes on corruption. He said the only way confidence could be restored in the conduct of public affairs in Nigeria was through the restoration of family values and aggressive law enforcement.

“From the position of a law enforcement officer, the only answer is “Enforce the law!” That is the only way to restore and sustain public confidence in the face of daily, brutal trashing of public morality and trampling of social ethics,” he posited.

Speaking while declaring the workshop open, (CPIN) President, Barrister Ose Ogunkorode said the programme was organised to awaken the consciousness of stakeholders to good corporate governance and best practices in the industry.

In his contribution, Ivor M. Tankor, a director with the Nigeria Pension Commission (PenCom) said that if the government, regulators and all stakeholders in the pension industry did their jobs in accordance with the law, there would be a greater accountability in pension matters in the country.

He identified corruption as the biggest challenges facing the industry and emphasised timely disclosure of information to enable law enforcement agencies do their work whenever the need arises.wp_posts