Former President Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed surprise at the growth of pension assets in the last 20 years while reminiscing when his administration instituted the pension scheme and enacted a bill to reform pension administration in the country.
Obasanjo who stated this at a recent interview with the Chief Executive of the Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp), Oguche Agudah said he never thought the scheme would impact positively as it is being witnessed today.
According to the former president, one of the major reasons for the reform was his disappointment at seeing pensioners, especially Military men who had served the country lining up to collect their pensions during his first term in office.
He said with this in mind, he resolved to see how the government could make pension management and administration private sector driven and in line with global best practices.
“it’s simple, we just see what other countries are doing and if it’s good for us we copy it and adapt. There is no harm in copying if we see what other countries are doing and it’s good for them, we adapt”, Obasanjo said.
The former Nigeria’s president advised that the pension assets that have been saved over the years should be deployed to national development, most especially investment in infrastructure in a safe and sustainable manner that will not jeopardize the people’s Contribution.