Nigeria to host World Pension Summit in Abuja

Mrs Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, the Director-General, National Pencom Commission (PenCom), said on Friday that Nigeria was ready to host the second edition of the World Pension Summit-Africa Special in Abuja.

Anohu-Amazu said this in Lagos during an interactive session with newsmen on the upcoming event and the launch of a new logo for the commission.

She said the event was scheduled for Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, with the theme “Building Sustainable Pension Systems in Africa’’.

The director-general explained that the successes recorded by Nigeria in pension administration since the inception of the new system gave the country the lead in Africa.
“I am happy to say that the successes recorded so far in the implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme, lends itself to be replicated in other jurisdictions across Africa.

“It is with this in mind that the commission partnered with the` WorldPensionSummit, The Netherlands’, a global pension brand, to host the maiden edition of the WorldPensionSummit – Africa Special – in Abuja, Nigeria, last year, to discuss and share ideas on pension administration in Africa.

“The summit was adjudged a great success as over 400 delegates from 23 countries, including 15 African countries attended,’’ she said.

According to her, the forthcoming summit would once more attract diverse experts from across the world in the areas of investment, infrastructure financing, real estate and other pension-related fields.

Anohu-Amazu added that “reforms and developments in African pension systems (regional reports’’ and global developments in pension systems’’ would be part of issues to be addressed at the summit.

The other subjects include “The real deal: Structuring pension investments for sustainability’’ and “Expanding investment frontiers for pension funds’’.
“It is expected that such exposure would provide milestones, against which Africa, as a continent, can benchmark its performance in the area of pension,’’ she said.

However, she noted that not much had been achieved in Africa in the area of micro pension plans, and stressed the urgent need to redress the situation by emulating the advances in China and Kenya.

She also announced the introduction of Africa Pension Awards in the upcoming event to appreciate innovation, excellence and commitment to the development of pensions in the continent.

On his part, the Co-founder of the “WorldPensionSummit, The Netherlands’’, Mr Eric Eden, underscored the need to build trust, transparency and accountability to alleviate poverty among retirees in the world.

The event was also graced by the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr Femi Adesina, NLC and TUC representatives as well as other stakeholders in the pension industry.