Lawmakers to Investigate Payments of Fraudulent Severance Packages to Political Appointees

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Account has set up a five-man sub-committee to probe the payment of bogus severance packages for political appointees in government agencies.

The Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam, announced the sub-committee on Thursday in Abuja at a public hearing on the 2020 Audit Queries from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation.

The formation of the sub-committee followed the lawmakers’ resolve to probe the process of severance packages for political appointees in

Salam said some agency’s boards appeared too powerful and approved any amount as a severance package for appointees.

He expressed concern over the scale of severance packages paid to board members of some government agencies.

The lawmaker said the packages enjoyed by some appointees for four years of service were higher than the packages for civil servants who served for 35 years, including those who served in war zones.

He said: “There is an urgent need for the government to efficiently manage its finances, especially given the current fiscal challenges.”

The chairman said the report from the probe would be presented on the floor of the House with recommendations to amend the existing act to curtail indiscriminate approvals.

In his remarks, the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, said the commission operates both the Defined Benefit and Contributory Pension Schemes.

He told the committee that both schemes are managed by three Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs): Sigma, Premium Pension, and Stanbic IBTC.

According to him, the commission opted to pay management fees to the PFAs to reduce the risk of future deficits that would require off-setting within 90 days.