‘Senate’s Hostility To Pension Reform Team Calculated’

The Centre on Convention For Democratic Integrity has described the hostility of the Senate committee on pension to the Maina- led Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT) as a calculated attempt by the lawmakers to frustrate reforms in pension administration.

The country director of the centre, Olufemi Aduwo, said in a statement that those benefitting from the leakages in the administration of pension funds were collaborating with National Assembly to block all efforts of the Maina task force.

He said, “The Hostility of the Senate committee towards Maina was a calculated attempt by the cabal to frustrate his effort at blocking the leakages through which pension money are siphoned.

“We discovered that apart from the lawmakers, the cabal is also using some royal fathers and civil society groups who cannot differentiate between pension and tax to frustrate the effort of the task force.”

Aduwo said, “There is no way N195billion could have gone missing under the present PRTT regime. Mr President should provide adequate security arrangement around the PRTT Chairman.

Also speaking on the attempts by the ruling People’s Democratic Party to elect a Board of Trustees chairman, Aduwo said, “We advice the PDP not to allow people with selfish ambitions to occupy the position of BoT of the party.”? “Antecedent, party loyalty and acceptability of such a person must be considered in the election.”

Aduwo said all the elements who wanted to truncate the 2007 general elections in order to form a six-month interim government should not be allowed to occupy the seat.