Yemisi Izuora
The FIRST Guarantee Pensions Limited, FGPL, now in the news over botched attempt by its former executive vice chairman Nze Chidi Duru to forcefully take the office has reassured its clients, especially shareholders and subscribers, of the safety of their funds.
The company also disclosed that its total assets has grown to N131billion in the last five years from N35billion.
FGPL’s Interim Management Committee, IMC, Chairman, Mr. Issa Aremu, who gave the assurance in Lagos, said the IMC inherited accumulated losses of N385 million when it took over the management of the company in 2011.
It would be recalled that IMC was appointed by the National Pension Commission, PenCom, to manage the affairs of FGPL in 2011 as a result of perceived infractions by previous management.
Abuse of integrity according to Aremu, the profit of the company was close to two billion as contributors (subscribers) in the company had also increased from 105,000 to 250,000, declaring that the pension office had fully resumed operation after an alleged disruption by Duru.
According to him, FGPL has fully resumed and the workers and properties are secured. IMC will run the operations of the company until PenCom returns it back to the management.”
Aremu, however, condemned alleged invasion of the company and described it as an abuse of integrity because Duru is a former law maker.
Managing Director of the company Mr. Chima Akalezi, said that PenCom had asked Duru to resign in 2011 to enable the IMC come into the company and restructure it.
Akalezi claimed that Duru invaded the office with some suspected thugs to cart away some files which implicated his siblings, as well as former workers who defrauded the company.
He said: “On January 11, 2017, Duru in company of armed gunmen invaded the company’s head office situated at 68, Kudirat Abiola Way, Oregun, Ikeja, disrupted the operations and held members of management, staff and customers of the PFA hostage. The Police immediately intervened to restore normalcy and security in the PFA’s office .”
The MD assured the clients that the incident had no impact on the pension funds under management of the PFA and that normalcy had been restored at the FGPL head office and business had since resumed.
Earlier, workers had Thursday protested the alleged invasion of the company, claiming it would undermine the achievements of the last five years.