The Federal Government has appointed Mr Opeyemi Agbaje as Chairman of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), following mounting pressure from the Nigeria Labour Congress over the non-constitution of the commission’s governing board.

Multiple sources within the NLC and the pension industry confirmed the appointment to on Saturday, though PenCom’s spokesman, Ibrahim Buwal, said there was no official communication yet from the presidency.

The development comes just days after the NLC Central Working Committee, at the end of its August 13 meeting, gave the government a seven-working-day ultimatum to reconstitute the PenCom Board as required by law. The labour body also demanded that PenCom present a full status report on pension funds within the same period.

Section 19 of the Pension Reform Act 2014 mandates a 16-member governing board for the commission. It includes a Chairman, Director-General, and four full-time Commissioners to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, alongside ten representatives of key stakeholders such as the NLC, Trade Union Congress, Nigeria Union of Pensioners, and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association.

Agbaje, the new chairman, is the Chief Executive Officer of RTC Advisory Services Ltd, a strategy and business advisory firm. He holds a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Lagos and an MBA from Spain’s IESE Business School. He previously served two terms on the board of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund between 2011 and 2019 and has prior experience in the banking sector.

His appointment is expected to end months of agitation by labour unions, which have repeatedly raised concerns over transparency and governance in the management of pension funds.