MATTERS ARISING: Is PenCom now working for the Odukales?

On September 23, 2025, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) inaugurated the ‘Pension Revolution 2.0’.

The commission said the initiative is designed to strengthen the industry, enhance inclusion, and “secure dignity for retirees”.

Under the new scheme, Omolola Oloworaran, the director-general of PenCom, said the agency will unveil new regulations daily to drive the revolution forward.

Since her statement, PenCom has been on a regulatory spree, rapidly issuing new and revised industry guidelines.

So far, the commission has announced regulations addressing securities lending, foreign currency pension contributions, and a framework mandating PFAs to report pension payments above $10,000 to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in 24 hours.

But there are concerns in the industry that the slew of regulations might be masking some highly political decisions.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE GUILDELINES STOKING CONCERNS

The regulation on corporate governance is already raising dust, eliciting questions about the independence of corporate boards in the pension industry.

The new corporate governance regulations allow principal owners to remain on the board as non-executive directors (NEDs) even after completing the regulatory tenure limit.

In the corporate governance guidelines published in 2021, NEDs were expected to be replaced after 15 years of serving on the board, according to clause 2.11.2 of the regulation.

“NEDs shall serve for a maximum period of fifteen (15) years on the Board. However, it is necessary to reinforce the Board by continually injecting new energy, fresh ideas and perspectives. The Board should ensure the periodic appointment of new Directors to replace existing NEDs,” the old document reads.

Industry insiders told TheCable that the new regulation “perpetuates owners on the board” and this favours the Odukales, a powerful family in the financial sector.

They can legitimately run a “relay race” to keep hold of the company as they can now serve permanently on the board.

It is not uncommon in Nigeria for regulators to make industry-wide rule changes just to favour an individual or a group of individuals.

AS LEADWAY ACQUIRES PAL PENSION…

The Odukale family is behind Leadway Assurance Company Limited. The firm was founded in 1970 by Hassan Odukale, who died in 1999.

Two of his sons – Ire and Tunde – currently sit on the board as NEDs.

Tunde Hassan-Odukale was the chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, where Oloworaran was head of services before her appointment as PenCom DG in 2024.

Although she fell short of the requirements to lead PenCom, she was still confirmed by the senate.

With the latest PenCom rule change, the Odukales can now be on the board of Leadway Pensure for life.

Tunde, who joined Leadway in 1992, ran the company as managing director and CEO between 2020 and 2024.

He is also the group managing director of Leadway Holdings, while Oye is the chairman (non-executive) of the holding company.

On September 6, Leadway Holdings announced its acquisition of PAL Pensions, consolidating its position as one of the top three PFAs in Nigeria by assets under management.

The acquisition expectedly got the go-ahead of PenCom and approval is expected to be a mere formality.

This does not suggest any breach on the part of PenCom, but the political undertones are being discussed in whispers.

N1 BILLION FINE OVERTURNED 

TheCable also learnt that Leadway Pensure and NLPC Pension Fund Administrators Limited (NLPC PFA) were, at some point, involved in trading bonds across funds “to cover losses made on some bond investments in order to keep the fund valuations afloat”.

“When prices of bonds held in Fund 1 dropped from N100 to N80, for example, they will buy these bonds for Fund 2 at the original price of N100 using current inflows,” an industry source said.

“This will cause Fund 2 to lose N20 because the bonds would have been worth N80 instead of N100. Similarly, there were cases when they sold these bonds at N100 to banks and bought them back at the same price plus a markup the following day.”

The transactions, according to the source, were done across several funds.

This was said to have led to losses amounting to “N1.4 billion and around N600 million in the case of Leadway and NLPC, respectively”.

PenCom penalised both organisations financially, asking them to pay the total amounts into the respective funds.

However, Oloworaran “overturned the N1 billion sanction against Leadway in her first assignment” as PenCom DG, sources told TheCable.

That is why almost every stakeholder in the industry is asking: is Oloworaran’s PenCom working for the Odunkales?

The commission’s spokesperson did not respond to TheCable’s enquiries sent via WhatsApp. Subsequent calls went unanswered.