The Nation Newspaper

Category: News

  • Man declared wanted over political crisis, stepbrother’s death

    Man declared wanted over political crisis, stepbrother’s death

    The police have declared one Mr Daniel Abiodun wanted following a political crisis that engulfed the Ojo Local Government Area of Lagos State, on April 3 which left two persons killed and dozens seriously injured.

    The young man is also wanted in connection with the death of his stepbrother, Mr John Abiodun, who slumped and died in the course of a fight which came up when Daniel accused John of stealing his valuables after breaking into his room.

    During a press conference on the matters, the police alleged that Daniel and others also at large masterminded the crisis which disrupted a rally organised by the youth wing of the All Progresssives Congress (APC) in the local government area.

    The police alleged that Daniel, the youth leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the locality, used a group of thugs who were loyal to the PDP, struggling to take over power from the ruling party.

    The source told our correspondent that “the local government area is a stronghold of the APC, but the PDP is determined to take over the area and others by defeating the party in the 2015 general elections”.

    The source further said: “Apart from the policemen who are searching for him (Daniel), some members of his extended family have vowed to deal with him. They are likely to kill him, if they get him.”

    Investigation revealed that John was a member of a brutal cult, ‘Aiye’, that kills and maims in the local government area. Members of this group are out to kill Daniel who is held responsible for the death of his stepbrother

  • Pensions influence catastrophe reinsurance

    The $30 trillion global pension fund industry is starting to muscle in on traditional reinsurers financing protection against earthquakes and tornadoes.

    This is even as interest rates, which near record lows spur the search for yield on catastrophe.

    According to The Telegraph, Guy Carpenter, the reinsurance brokerage of Marsh & McLennan Cos, said a record $10 billion of institutional money flowed into insurance linked investments in the 18 months through June, and for the first time is directly influencing pricing of some catastrophe risk coverage.

    LGT Capital Partners AG added that catastrophe bonds can yield as much as 15 per cent.

    Coverage provided by alternative capital, as pension and hedge-fund money is known in the insurance industry, reached $45 billion at the end of 2012, about 14 percent of the total global property catastrophe limit purchased, Carpenter said. While welcomed by nations seeking to spread disaster burdens, pension investment is pushing down prices, even as reinsurers press for higher rates to compensate for more frequent extreme weather.

    David Flandro, global head of business intelligence at Guy Carpenter in New Yorksaid this is the biggest change to the reinsurance sector’s capital structure in the last 20 years.

    “Catastrophe reinsurance is relatively high-risk, high-return. Pension funds are looking for direct access. Most of the capital is here to stay.”

    In a catastrophe bond, insurers pay buyers some of the premiums collected for protection against damage from natural disasters. In exchange for above-market yields, investors assume the risk of a disaster during the life of their bonds, with their principal used to cover damage caused if the catastrophe is severe enough. The first catastrophe bonds were issued after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

    Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Superannuation Fund said in May it planned to more than double its holdings in catastrophe bonds and other insurance linked assets, while firms such as PGGM NV in the Netherlands and Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc’s employee retirement fund have stepped up their reinsurance investments.

    Pension assets have reached $30 trillion globally this year, according to estimates from J. P. Morgan Asset Management.

    “This is a coming-of-age moment,” said Michael Millette, global head of structured finance at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which managed a catastrophe bond offering for the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority after Superstorm Sandy in 2012. “Some of the largest asset-management complexes in the world are becoming more engaged in the space.”

    Catastrophe bonds can become even more attractive in the wake of a disaster as capital is depleted and insurance prices rise, said EvelineTakken, head of insurance-linked securities, or ILS, at PGGM, which oversees about 140 billion euros ($193 billion) in retirement savings for Dutch pension funds.

    PGGM is continuing to set up new investments in catastrophe insurance, eight years after its first forays following Hurricane Katrina, she said by phone from Zeist, Netherlands.

    The Swiss Re Cat Bond Total Return Index, which tracks dollar debt sold by insurers and reinsurers, shows catastrophe bonds have returned about 10 percent this year. U.S. 10-year Treasuries currently yield 2.5 percent. Takken and other fund managers interviewed declined to disclose their returns.

     

  • PHCN retirees want pension in recurrent expenditure

    President, Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Electricity sector, Chief Temple Ubani has urged the Federal Government to make provision for their pension and gratuity in the recurrent budget.

    He said putting their money in the recurrent budget would lead to consistent payment of the retirees, rather than through the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited (NELMCO) saddled with the payment of pensions to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) pensioners.

    Ubani told The Nation that NUP members have claims on gratuities, pension arrears and death and accident benefits.

    He further said the Federal Government has since August this year, stopped pensions payment to electricity workers who are under the old pension scheme through NELMCO.

    The NUP chief said the situation had put many pensioners under undue hardship, lamenting that government has been insensitivity to challenges facing the group. He said that government has not been treating the problems of the union with the seriousness it deserves.

    He said: “Before now, PHCN was paying our pension after we retired. However, in view of the power sector reform and privatisation, the Federal Government established an agency called Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Limited (NELMCO) to be responsible for the payment of pensions to the current PHCN pensioners.

    “Although we are now captured in the budget with the Ministry of Finance paying our money to NELMCO, which has been paying us, but recently, they stopped the payment.”

    He explained that NELMCO started paying them since August last year, adding that every year, budgetary allocation is made to NELMCO and disbursed quarterly but they have been struggling to pay.

    The development, he said, was sometimes due to perennial problems between the National Assembly and the Presidency.

    “This is why we are appealing to the government to provide our monies in recurrent budget. Our arrears also have to be put in perspective,” he said.

    Speaking on the privatisation and transfer of PHCN assets to the new investors, Ubani said that as senior citizens in the sector, they are worried as to who will pay pensions of the workers that are affected by the new developments in the sector.

    “We do not oppose privatisation since government has decided it’s the way to go, but wondered who will pay the pension of the retirees, since they do not have any relationship with the new buyers,” he noted.

  • Pension fund hits N3.72t

    Pension fund hits N3.72t

    The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has said the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) fund has grown to N3.72 trillion by last month, as against the N3.5 trillion the previous month.

    Acting Director-General, PenCom, Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, made this known in Awka, the Anambra State capital,during the inauguration of the southeast zonal office of the commission.

    She said workers registered under the scheme have also grown to 5.82 million in October from 5.61 million in the previous month.

    She also said the Commission has remained steadfast in the implementation of the CPS such that within its few years of existence, modest achievements have been realised.

    According to her, the generation of more than N3.72 trillion invested in various financial instruments, and the registration of about 5.82 million contributors in the scheme are part of the modest achievements of the Commission.

    She listed other achievements as the payment of the benefits to retirees since 2007 without the bottlenecks experienced in the past, adding that the Commission had also established a call centre to enhance its service delivery through an efficient complaints resolution process.

    She said: “Central among its key objectives are to stem the growth of outstanding pension liabilities; ensure that every person who has worked in either the public or private sector receives his or her retirement benefits as and when due.

    “Foremost among such achievements is the consistent payment of retirement benefits to all employees who retired under the scheme since 2007 without the characteristic bottlenecks experienced in the past.

    “The Commission had also reviewed its Investment Regulations with a view to facilitating the investment of pension funds towards reducing the huge infrastructure gap in the country. The Commission has also made an input in the process of a major amendment to the Pension Reform Act 2004 at the final stages of consideration by the National Assembly.”

  • ‘Pay our pension arrears’

    ‘Pay our pension arrears’

    PENSIONERS in Lagos State under the ‘Pay As You Go’ (PAYG) schemeshave appealed to the Federal Government to take the non-payment of their pension seriously. An 89-year-old pensioner, Chief Joseph Odunuga, who spoke to The Nation after the Lagos State Civil Service Commission gave him a wheel chair during a verification in Lagos, said he had not received his pension arrears in three years. The pensioner, who said he has written a petition to the Federal Government, sought for the payment of his pension arrears. He said he worked for the Federal Government for 28 years and Lagos State for seven years. He said: “I am not happy with the government because in the past three years, they have not paid me. I have written a petition the government, but I have not received any reply”. ‘’I serve with the Federal Government for 28 years and state government for seven years. I have been getting my federal share regularly but at present, I don’t get any pension from both the Federal and state government. Chief Collins Ayoade, who worked in the Ministry of Finance and retired in 1989, said the government promised it would pay pension arrears but the promises were not fulfilled. He noted that most pensioners did not get their pension since 2001 except for a few people. “Each time we go to the pension office, the government keep telling us there is no money. The pensioners, who retired before 2001 are getting their pension but those who retire from 2001, when the Federal Government said it would not be involved in pension payment are not getting their money. “A lot of pension money is hanging with Federal Government and they have refused to pay to the states and we are praying to God so that they can pay us our entitlements,” he said. Commissioner for Establishment, Lagos Civil Service Pensions Office, Mrs. Modupe Oguntuase, said the state government had been fulfilling her obligation to the pensioners in the two schemes. She said the state issued N18.9 billion cheque for the payment of retirement benefits to its pensioners. She stressed that on assumption of office in 2011, representations through letters and visits, were made by the ministry to the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation in Abuja on the matter. “It is noteworthy to state that the Senate Public Hearing on pension that sat at the Airport Hotel where our positions were highlighted through submission of relevant document is yet to receive any attention,” she added.

  • Nnamdi Azikiwe varsity retirees urge govt to revert to old scheme

    Some NnamdiAzikiwe University retirees have called on the Federal Government to revert to the old pension scheme.

    According to the retirees who consist mostly junior staff and are retirees from 2007 to date, the old pension system ensures a substantial payment of gratuity.

    In a statement signed by their Chairman of the group, Mr Patrick Okafor, said many of them died because of lack of money.

    He noted that the only advantage of the new scheme is that pension managers pay retirees only half of their gratuities, while the other half is kept with the managers while under the old system the retirees received a substantial amount of money as gratuity.

    The retirees, however, condemn the situation where some pension managers give only a third of the gratuity to retirees and do business to enrich themselves with the remaining two-thirds.

    The retirees said it was embarrassing to them as retired civil servants, who had served in various capacities to better the country to be treated shabbily.

    “By the new pension scheme, the Federal Government failed to realise that not all retired civil servants were able to build a home for themselves before retirement.We never had any agreement with the government nor with the pension managers that our benefits be kept with pension managers to do business. We are begging the Federal Government to look into our pitiable case and kindly bring back the old pension system,” they added.

     

  • Pension practice not yet ideal, says group

    A pension advocacy and non-governmental organisation, Ayobola Foundation, has said pension in the country is far from ideal compared to other developing and developed countries. The Chief Executive Officer of the 21- year-old organisation, Mr Stephen Enada, who spoke during a verification in Lagos, said it is important for the Federal Government to review pension benefits from periodically to pave way for inflation trend. Decrying the non-challant attitude of some state governments toward the Contributory pension Scheme (CPS), he said it was unfortunate that many states have not implemented the new scheme. Lagos, he added, has keyed into the scheme while Kwara State has not. He warned governments to be careful in how pensioners were treated in order not to frustrate workers. He said: “Our research and assessment on how pensioners are treated in other states is so bad. We have related with some states, including Kwara so far and what we see there is horrible for pensioners. Lagos State, on its part, is improving and you have to give them some kind of credit because they are listening and improving themselves on how to better the life’s of the pensioners. “As an advocacy group, we are abreast with the situations of pensioners across the country. We are therefore advising and will continue to call for a balance and objective views about pensioners and their plight entitlement in Nigeria. “Governments should pay pensioners their money as when due and even review it from time to time. For us, pension administration is far from being perfect and the foundation is advocating, mobilising so that every stakeholder would see that the fundamental human right of pensioners and senior citizen must be respected by government players and agency.” Enada said pensions were being reviewed, but has not been paid, adduing that this was wrong. “We have to be very careful to play with old folks because they are part of our society. “The fact remains that pension in this country is still far from what it should be when compared with the kind of global support for seniors and even pensioners who have worked.It is not debatableand cannot be negotiated because it is their right. What we ought to be negotiating is how their entitlement will be reviewed base on the inflationary trend so that they will be able to cope with the trend of the day.” Speaking further on the activities of the group, Enada said they were able to support over 500 pensioners who have problems with their sight with glasses and other treatment, including nutrition package periodically in collaboration with state Ministry of Health. He added that the foundation was established to highlight the plight and frustrations of the average pensioner to bring about a change in their fortune. It also aimed at promoting the ideals that characterised the lifestyle of Mrs. Elizabeth Ayobola Afolabi as she impacted lives; particularly of the less-privileged in the society where she lived, before she died in a car accident while pursuing her pension verification with NITEL on December 2, 2010.

  • Contributors to own homes soon, says PenCom

    • Inaugurates new zonal office in Lagos

    Are you a contributor or retiree under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) of the Pension Reform Act, 2004, living in the Southwest?

    If your answer is yes, this is good news for you.

    If the plans of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) sails through, contributors under Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) may soon to utilise part of their Retirement Savings Account (RSA) to part-finance the acquisition of low-cost houses in their states.

    Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Southwest Zonal Office of PenCom over the weekend, Acting Director-General, PenCom, Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu said the commission is exploring the possibility of allowing contributors to utilise their RSA balances to part-finance the acquisition of low-cost houses as part of ongoing efforts at enhancing contributors’ satisfaction.

    She stated that the commission expects that when they eventually come on stream, these facilities will be made vailable to states that have fully implemented the scheme.

    Meanwhile, PenCom has decentralised the activities of the commission by opening a zonal office in Lagos State to cater for the needs of contributors and retirees in the geo-political zone of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun and Oyo states.

    By this action, she said the commission is seeking to reduce the need for contributors and retirees to travel from various parts of the country to Abuja to access the agency’s services.

    According to her, the presence of PenCom in the zone would facilitate closer interaction states’ pension offices by assisting them to comply with the CPS.

    Mrs Anohu-Amazu said the choice of Lagos to host the South-west zonal office stemmed not only from its pre-eminent position as the economic nerve centre of the country but was also justified by its record of being one of the pioneers in implementation of the CPS, having enacted its law in 2007.

    She enjoined stakeholders to avail themselves of the commission’s services by visiting the office to make enquiries, lodge complaints, and seek enlightenment on the CPS noting that the South-West Zonal Office has a mandate to effectively extend services to all the six states of the zone.

    According to her, the commission has also reviewed its Investment Regulations with a view to facilitating the investment of pension funds towards reducing the huge infrastructure gap in the country.

    She said: “Already several states in the federation have so far benefitted from the pool of funds towards reducing the huge infrastructure gap in the country. It is also worthy to mention that several states have also benefitted from the pool of funds generated by the CPS through the issuance of development bonds.

    “The establishment of Zonal Offices in all the six geo-political zones of the country is in a bid to decentralise its activities and bring it closer to the contributors and retirees. This is also due to our renewed focus on efficient service delivery.”

    According to her, the commission remains steadfast in the implementation of the CPS, adding that within the few years of its existence, some modest achievements have been realised.

    “Foremost among such achievements is the consistent payment of retirement benefits to employees who retired under the scheme in 2007 without the characteristic bottlenecks experienced in the past,” she said.

     

  • Man charged with stealing PHCN metre

    Man charged with stealing PHCN metre

    A 43-year-old man, Theo Ifeka, has been charged before a Yaba Magistrates’ Court in Lagos with allegedly stealing Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) metre worth N18,000.

    He was arraigned on a two-count charge of impersonation and stealing before Magistrate P.A. Ojo.

    Ifeka, a resident of 10, Oyebo Street, Iwaya, Yaba, Lagos Mainland, was said to have committed the offence on January 28, at 3pm, on 28 Shobande Street, Akoka,

    Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Felix Ifijen told the court that the PHCN metre marked 77/S25/113173 belonged to Mr Kola Bello.

    He said: “The defendant presenting himself as a PHCN official had gone on a routine inspection of metres in the area. Ifeka presented a forged identity card, indicating that he was a staff of PHCN and was at the complainant’s house on routine inspection.

    “He then told the complainant that the metre had been tampered with and needed to be taken to PHCN office. The defendant removed the metre and absconded with it. The matter was reported to the Police and they tracked the defendant tracked down in the course of investigation.”

    Ifijen said the offence contravened Sections 279 and 378 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.

    The defendant, pleaded not guilty and was granted N250, 000 bail with two “responsible sureties” in the like sum each. Magistrate Ojo adjourned the case till March 14, for trial

  • GM Korea labour talks break down, workers approve strike

    General Motors‘ South Korean workers on Wednesday voted to go on strike over salaries and production volume, signaling tough annual wage talks for automakers already grappling with falling earnings due to the stronger won.

    Strikes are an almost annual event in South Korea’s $173 billion auto industry, but this year’s unrest could be more prolonged than usual as workers are calling for the revamping of a 60-year-old wage scheme among other demands.

    Ulugbekhon Maksumov a supply chain manger to the General Motors while being asked by the CNN said 69% of GM Korea’s 14,016 workers voted to down tools and walk out for a fourth consecutive year unless they reach a deal.

    A union spokesman was not immediately available for comment as representatives were engaged in another round of negotiations with GM Korea management.

    While speaking further, he said the vote did not mean that there will be an actual strike and said it was one of the union’s “ordinary actions” during annual negotiations.

    “Both sides remain committed to reaching a fair and reasonable labor agreement based on mutual trust and understanding,” Ulugbekhon Maksumov said.

    Unions are demanding changes to the wage scheme, which has been in place since 1953, because the country’s supreme court ruled late last year that fixed bonuses should be counted as base wages.

    Workers want their new contract to comply with the ruling because it would increase various statutory benefits, such as overtime allowances and severance pay, which are adjusted in proportion to base wages.

    GM Korea workers are also calling for management to boost production after the U.S. automaker announced plans to stop selling Chevrolet-branded cars in Europe by the end of 2015.

    GM Korea CEO Sergio Rocha on Monday warned employees that a strike could jeopardize production and job security, and urged them to “stop this vicious cycle before it is too late.”

    GM Korea and other rivals like Hyundai Motor Co are wrangling with their individual unions over whether to overhaul the current wage system, which management says could lead to higher labor costs.

    Workers at Renault SA’s South Korean unit last week voted in favor of a strike, although talks continue, while ongoing wage negotiations at Hyundai are expected to drag into next month.

    Hyundai is expected to report lackluster second-quarter earnings later this month as the South Korean won posted its biggest annual percentage gain in nearly three years versus the dollar, eroding its overseas earnings converted into the South Korean currency.