President Muhammadu Buhari can appoint a Director General of the National Pension Commission (PenCom) from any zone after he had dissolved the previous board, an official said.
Senate President Ahmed Lawan last Tuesday announced the nomination of Aisha Umar-Dahir by President Muhammadu Buhari for confirmation as the DG of PenCom.
The Board of PenCom has not been constituted since 2015, with Aisha holding brief.
At the floor of the National Assembly, some lawmakers said the next DG of PenCom should come from the South-east as the former DG from the zone did not complete her tenure.
However the spokesperson of PenCom, Mr Peter Aghahowa, in a rejoinder on a previous report, referred to the Pension Reform Act, 2014 for clarity. He said replacement of any PenCom DG removed from office from the same region as the former occupant of the position only applies to occasional vacancies and not when the whole Board is dissolved by the President as was done in 2015.
Aghahowa said the entire PenCom Board was completely dissolved and the President reserves the right to reconstitute the Board from competent people across the country.
Citing Section 106 (4) of the Act, the official said it provides that where a Board of the Commission is yet to be reconstituted after six months of the dissolution of the last Board, the President may appoint fit and proper persons with pension cognate experience to constitute the Board at the first instance, subject to confirmation by the Senate.
