Yemisi Izuora
The Director General, DG, of the National Pension Commission (PenCom), Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar, says her absence at the House of Representatives committee on Finance meeting on Thursday, September 8, 2022 in Abuja, was because she was unavailable to attend to the meeting.
The DG, said she has always taken seriously invitations of such by the Legislature and committed to official duties as the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission.
PenCom said this while responding to the observation by the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon Saidu Abdullahi, on PenCom DG’s absence from House of Representatives committee on Finance meeting in Abuja.
The PenCom DG was invited by House Committee on Finance to defend the Commission’s 2021/2022 Budget and present the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).
The Spokesperson of the Commission, Mr. Abdulqadir Dahiru, in a statement said the Director General takes invitations from the National Assembly seriously except when the exigencies of her office make it impossible.
While explaining the reason for the DG’s absence at the meeting which he said “was because she was out of town attending an official engagement,” expressed the PenCom’s satisfaction on the observation by the House Committee on the quality and comprehensiveness of the reports submitted to it by the Commission..
According to Dahiru, “The National Pension Commission (PenCom) appeared before the House of Representatives committee on Finance on Thursday, 08 September 2022, to defend the Commission’s 2021/2022 Budget and present the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework/Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).
“At the hearing, the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Hon Saidu Abdullahi, frowned at the absence of the Commission’s Director-General, Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar.
“It is pertinent to note that the DG’s absence was because she was out of town attending an official engagement. However, the Commissioner of Finance, the Director and Head of Accounts and the Deputy Director and Head of Financial Planning represented her, which is the usual practice whenever the DG is unavailable.
“The Director General takes invitations from the National Assembly seriously and ensures that she attends personally except when the exigencies of her office make it impossible, in which case the relevant Commissioner and Management staff of the Commission represent her.
“Finally, PenCom notes with satisfaction the observation by the House Committee on the quality and comprehensiveness of the reports submitted to it by the Commission.”