Pension Fund Loot: N3 billion Bribery Scam rocks Nigerian Senate

Just as Nigerians are yet to recover from the $3 million subsidy bribery scandal in the House of Representatives, the Nigeria’s senate adhoc committee on pension has also been fingered in N3  billion bribery allegations against some members of the committee.

The N3 billion was said to have been contributed by corrupt government officials who embezzled the  pension fund and allegedly offered the money to the committee to exonerate them in their report.

Recall that the committee eventually submitted its report to the senate last week calling for the probe of  the Chairman of the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reform, Abdulrasheed Maina.

The report has however, made the House of Representatives to draw its dagger against the upper  legislative body as it rose in support of Abdulrasheed Maina.

The House in a memo addressed to the Head of Service of the Federation criticised the senate report and urged President Jonathan to ensure adequate protection for the Chairman of Presidential Task Team on Pension Reform to carry out his assignment.

The memo was signed by the House Committee Chairman on Pensions,  Ibrahim Bawa Kamba and title “Urgent Call on Mr President To Further Give Protection and Directive To the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reform to Continue To Carry Out Thorough, Comprehensive/Holistic Pension Reform Across All MDAs and Parastatals To A Logical Conclusion.

The house noted that according to its own findings “The Presidential Task Team on Pension Reform should be the only genuine veritable vehicle for executing reform agenda on Pension Funds.”

The memo also stated: “In the light of corruption in the management of Pension Funds within MDAs and Parastatals, the House Committee on Pensions wishes to call on President Jonathan to direct the Presidential Task Team on Pension Reform to overhaul and continue to reform all MDAs and Parastatals pension administration."

Irritated with this development, a source told us that the obvious disagreements between the senate and house is not only shameful but caused by corruption.

“How would you explain the situation when the senate indicted the presidential task force but the house gave the committee a clean bill of health. Only one thing you can think of in this scenario  is that billions of naira in bribe may have played a key in arriving at the decision of either side.

We gathered that just like the house subsidy scandal against Lawan Farouk was captured with a pen camcorder, the senate's N3 billion scam is also said to have been recorded, and if the matter is not swept under the carpet, Nigerians would be treated with another bribe video clip, which is currently being reviewed by security agencies.

June 25, 2012