The Federal Government on Thursday rubbished rumours flying around that intended to borrow the N20tn pension fund for infrastructure development.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, in a statement in Abuja, said the government would not defile the established rules and regulations governing the pension fund.
The minister was reported to have told journalists, after a two-day Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, that the government would unveil a plan to harness local funds, including the fund, to finance infrastructure development.
However, in a statement in Abuja on Thursday, Edun noted that the pension industry, similar to other sectors in the financial industry, is strictly regulated by specific legal frameworks.
He said the Federal Government did not plan to exceed these legal boundaries, emphasising that the government was committed to protecting workers’ pensions.
“It has come to my notice that stories are making the round that the Federal Government plans to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
“The pension industry, like most the financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.
“The Federal Government has no intention whatsoever to go beyond those limitations and go outside those bounds which are there to safeguard the pensions of workers.
“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those that handle funds that are available over a long period to see how, within the regulations and the laws; these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas,” Edun clarified.
Furthermore, Edun clarified that the government had no intention of increasing the risk associated with the pension funds or allowing their investments to become less secure.
