The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has set up a five-member subcommittee to investigate severance packages granted to political appointees in government agencies.
Committee Chairman, Rep. Bamidele Salam, announced the subcommittee’s formation in Abuja on Thursday, following lawmakers’ concerns over the approval process and amounts allocated as severance benefits.
Speaking at a public hearing on the 2020 Audit Queries from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation, Salam expressed concern that some agency boards wield excessive power, approving severance payments far higher than those received by career civil servants, including those who served in war zones.
“The package enjoyed by some appointees for just four years of service exceeds what civil servants receive after 35 years of service,” he said. “Given the country’s current fiscal challenges, there is an urgent need to manage public funds more efficiently.”
The findings of the subcommittee will be presented on the House floor, with recommendations for amendments to existing laws to regulate severance approvals.
Meanwhile, Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dr. Emomotimi Agama, informed the committee that the commission operates both the Defined Benefit and Contributory Pension Schemes, managed by three Pension Fund Administrators—Sigma, Premium Pension, and Stanbic IBTC.
He explained that the SEC opted to pay management fees to these PFAs to prevent future pension deficits requiring government intervention. Agama added that severance payments to former Executive Commissioners who served from 2013 to 2017 were made as approved by the board.
