The National Pension Commission (PenCom) expressed deep concern over a renewed campaign of calumny targeting the Commission and its Director General, Mrs. Aisha Dahir-Umar. The false allegations of financial impropriety were labeled as "outrageous falsehood" by PenCom in a recent statement.
PenCom firmly refuted any claims of financial wrongdoing and attributed the smear campaign to individuals vying for appointments. The Commission urged those involved to pursue more honorable means rather than resorting to spreading baseless rumors through unreliable online platforms.
The statement from PenCom serves as a warning to the public about the deceptive nature of these accusations, emphasizing the need to disregard and not be swayed by unfounded claims. The Commission remains committed to upholding its integrity and maintaining transparency in its operations.
The statement stated, "Although the promoters of this fiction went to the extent of manufacturing documents and listing non-existent bank accounts to make the fabrication look real, a fiction remains a fiction and can never become the truth no matter how many times it is repeated and recycled.
“It was alleged that the Director General was paid millions of dollars as estacodes for foreign trips she did not embark upon in 2020. This poor attempt at calumny is exposed by the fact that there was a global lockdown in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic during which international travels were restricted.
"Offices were shut down and most people had to hold virtual meetings. It is, thus, most outlandish to suggest that any government agency would claim to be paying allowances to its officials for international travels when most airports were shut down globally.
“More so, official foreign trips require strict documentation, including air tickets, stamped passport pages and evidence of number of days spent. Rates for estacodes are standardised. If the DG were to spend two years abroad without returning to the country for one day, it would still be impossible for her to claim a million dollars as estacode. The desperate fabricators need to respect the intelligence of Nigerians...
