PenOp elect Bajowa as new president

Mariam Abeeb

The Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) has elected Mr Christopher Bajowa, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of FCMB Pension Ltd., as its new President.
The Chief Executive Officer of PenOp, Mr Oguche Agudah, said in Lagos that Bajowa was unanimously elected by his colleagues.
Aguda explained that the new president’s election followed the retirement of the previous PenOp President, Mr Umar Mairami, who was also the MD/CEO of Premium Pensions.
Agudah noted that the vacuum in the position of the association’s president occasioned by Mairami’s retirement necessitated the need to elect a new president.
He added that Bajowa would complete the term of the previous president, which will end in March 2026.
According to him, the smooth transition shows the strong governance process within the association and the commitment to sound leadership and respectful relationships between the pension operators.
The PenOp CEO mentioned that the move was geared towards the overall aim of ensuring that every Nigerian benefitted positively from the pension industry.
He said: “in this 20th year anniversary of the pension industry, it is evident that the pension industry has positively touched many aspects of Nigeria’s life.
“These range from the public fiscal management, equity market to infrastructure development, and the industry is primed to do more in the coming years.
In his acceptance speech, Bajowa thanked his colleagues for electing him, while assuring them of upholding the high standards expected of his role.
He pledged to uphold the ideals of the pension industry and to ensure that the interests of the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holders are prioritised.
The PenOp president also expressed his commitment to continue working towards ensuring that the pension industry positively affected every aspect of Nigeria’s economy.
To manage systemic risks, he disclosed that the SEC had mandated CMOs to prepare and submit their enterprise risk management frameworks and annual risk profiles to the Commission while also collaborating with other financial sector regulators and agencies in efforts to assist Nigeria in exiting the FATF grey list.
While urging CMOs to ensure compliance with the Nigerian Sanctions Alert System and to enhance reporting on Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs), the SEC DG also informed members of initiatives aimed at ensuring that the rulemaking process of the Commission becomes faster and more efficient.
“These include defragmenting the rules with a view of codifying the rules into a comprehensive rule book. Also, the Commission is presently updating rules on digital assets, has put in place guidelines for the banking recapitalisation exercise, as well as come up with guidelines for on boarding Virtual Assets Service Providers.
“We are also embarking on other initiatives to safeguard investors in private bonds, noting that the Commission is reviewing its relevant rules and will soon release rules on private markets” he stated.
Agama expressed the determination of the Commission to continue to encourage companies to list and urged the exchanges to take steps to attract new listings to align with the government’s $1 trillion economy target.