PenCom Writes House of Reps Over Loss of Confidence in Probe Committee Chairman, Classic Case of Conflict of Interest.

National Pension Commission (PenCom) has written to the leadership of the National Assembly over its loss of confidence in the leadership of the Ad-hoc Committee set up to investigate PenCom.

House of Representative had set up an Ad-hoc Committee pursuant to resolution HR. 94/11.2018 to investigate the activities of National Pension Commission from April 2017 to date under the Chairmanship of Hon. E. J. Agbonayinma. The investigation has lead to several back and forth, request for multiple documents, summoning other agencies and unfounded mismanagement allegations.

The National Pension Commission has now disclosed that there are indications that the Ad-hoc Committee’s leadership is no longer fair in its proceedings and would inevitably produce an unjust outcome.

PenCom further disclosed that prior to the commencement of the investigation, it had embarked on a routine certificate verification exercise of its employees and it was discovered that the daughter of the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee set up to investigate PenCom, secured employment in PenCom with fake certificates, which ultimately led to her dismissal.

PenCom states specifically, that this development has heightened concerns that the Chairman has personalized the investigation which led to the Commission’s loss of confidence in the leadership of the Ad-hoc Committee.

PenCom had expected that the Chairman would recuse himself from the Ad-hoc Committee with this glaring case of conflict of interest but he has continued to pursue an agenda of harassment of officers of PenCom that appeared before the Committee.

PenCom believes that he lacks the requisite impartiality to preside over the Committee’s proceedings and it is doubtful that PenCom would get justice in the investigation.