PenCom Clarifies Controversial Monthly Staff Remuneration Package

James Emejo in Abuja

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) yesterday refuted allegations that the least paid employee of the commission earns a salary of N3 million per month.

The commission noted that while the highest paid official of the commission earns less than N1 million a month, “It is therefore completely illogical and improbable that the least paid will earn a monthly salary of N3 million”.

In a statement issued by the management, PenCom, further pointed out that the clarification became necessary against the backdrop of the false and misleading information on the compensation package of the commission which was being circulated on traditional and social media.

The commission, therefore, appealed to the public to ignore the false and mischievous information on the staff compensation package, adding that PenCom has nothing to hide and will continue to run a transparent and accountable system.

PenCom said, “We understand that there is an element of mischief and possible blackmail on the Commission’s compensation package.

“From our understanding, it appears someone calculated all staff costs, including training, staff exit benefit scheme, and employer’s pension contribution, and divided the total by the number of the commission’s employees and concluded that the least paid employee is on a monthly salary of N3 million. There is a clear difference between staff costs and staff salaries. “

While noting that the reports had fuelled all sorts of false allegations and unfair insinuations, the commission stressed that it was imperative to point out that right from the inception of the PenCom in 2004, the federal government mandated the board to adopt an employee compensation policy that favourably compares to comparator government bodies in the financial services sector, such as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

It said Section 25(2)(b) of the Pension Reform Act 2014 also empowers the board of the commission to fix the remuneration, allowances, and benefits of the employees.

The statement added, “More so, the Presidential Committee on the Consolidation of Emoluments in the Public Sector headed by the late Chief Ernest Shonekan, former Head of the Interim National Government, made a number of recommendations which guide the PenCom Board in its compensation review exercises.

“One of the recommendations is that the pay structure of self-funded agencies should be benchmarked with their private sector comparators so as to ensure relativity in such agencies and attract and retain high-caliber professionals.”