The National Pension Commission has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to partner with it in tackling fraud in the nation’s pension industry, particularly the problem of unremitted pension funds by some employers.
PenCom’s Director General, Omolola Oloworaran, made the request in Abuja on Thursday, October 5, 2026, when she led a delegation from her office to the EFCC headquarters.
The DG raised concerns about a worrying trend in which many employers fail to remit their employees’ mandatory pension contributions to their retirement savings accounts, as required by the Pension Reform Act 2004.
She said it was even more troubling that many employers not only fail to remit the 10 per cent due from them as employers, but also deduct the required 8 per cent contribution from their employees’ pay and still fail to remit it to their retirement savings accounts.
Commending the EFCC for its efforts in the fight against corruption, Oloworaran expressed confidence in the Commission’s ability to help address the situation and bring the recalcitrant employers to justice.
“Employees are stealing from Nigerians. And we need a way to recover this monies from them. We are looking for a more effective way to manage this situation. We believe you can help us. We think that the EFCC is better placed to manage this issue,” she said.
Also speaking, Ahmed Lawan, acting director in PenCom’s compliance and enforcement department, said the major concern is where employers deduct pension funds and refuse to remit them, thereby denying workers their retirement benefits.
He said the situation has caused untold hardship for many retirees.
“We need an effective and efficient way to handle this. We need a framework of collaboration between PenCom and EFCC to address this menace,” he said.
Reacting, the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyode, described the development as fraudulent. He assured PenCom of his commitment to ensuring that the alleged crime is investigated and the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Represented by his Chief of Staff, Commander of the EFCC, CE Michael Nzekwe, the EFCC Chairman said he would give the report accelerated action and rid the pension industry of such life-threatening fraudulent practices against Nigerians.
“That’s fraud. We have had to deal with such issues before now. We will deal with this one also. We will look deeply into it; and I can assure whatever needs to be done would be done to ensure all the outstanding monies are recovered,” he stated.
