Ebere Nwoji
The National Pension Commission (PenCom), has revealed that it plans to deploy a whooping N300 billion pension funds in infrastructural development across Nigeria in 2027.
The Director General of PenCom, Ms Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed this while briefing media men shortly after the fourth edition of the Pension industry Leadership Council meeting in Lagos.
Oloworaran said the actual deployment of the funds commences by the second quarter of 2027 with N241billion already mapped out by pension fund operators for investment in infrastructure after which they would subsequently increase the investment to N300 billion.
According to her, pension fund operators have mobilised the N241 billion under an infrastructure framework established in conjunction with FSD Africa adding that PFAs are at liberty to participate in the infrastructural investment.
The PFAs, she added, have realised that infrastructural investment was a good way of ensuring higher yields to contributors’ funds and protects the funds against negative effects of inflation.
Oloworaran said for now, there has not been decision on a particular area of infrastructural investment but what was certain was that infrastructural investment was one area the sector is currently targeting to channel its funds.
“As part of that initiative, our pension fund managers have committed a total of N241 billion and we expect that to touch up to N300billion and we do have a time table we are working with and by Q2 2027 investment in infrastructure should start taking place . In the scheme of things it’s the first step we are taking as an industry and it is just the beginning of things because it’s a sector we are committed to and to ensuring that we mobilise capital in the pension sector to deepen infrastructure in the country . Investment is what pension fund is really interested in because largely they are long term investment and they provide edge against inflation,” she explained.
She emphasised that this step marked a major milestone for the pension sector as operators sought long-term inflation hedges and inflation-adjusted returns for contributors.
She also disclosed that PenCom has approved an independent global benchmark maturity assessment for the Nigerian pension industry to ensure operators align with international best practices.