PenCom to commit N300bn into infrastructure investment

By Rosemary Iwunze

The National Pension Commission, PenCom, said it is targeting a total capital commitment of N300 billion to deepen critical infrastructure investment across Nigeria, with actual asset deployments set to commence by the second quarter of 2027.

Speaking to the media at the backdrop of the Pension Industry Leaders Council (PILC) meeting in Lagos last week, Director-General of PenCom, Ms. Omolola Oloworaran, disclosed that the pension fund operators have already committed N241 billion under an infrastructure framework established in conjunction with FSD Africa.

Her words: “As of today, pension funds have committed a total of N241 billion, and we expect that to touch almost N300 billion very soon as soon as we get all the commitments in.

”We do have a timetable we are working with, and by Q2’2027, the real investments in those infrastructure projects should start taking place,” Oloworaran emphasised that this step marks a major milestone for the pension sector as operators seek long-term inflation hedges and inflation-adjusted returns for contributors.

She stated further, “This is the very first step we are taking as an industry, and this is just the beginning because this is a sector we are committed to.

“Mobilising capital within the pension industry deepens infrastructure in the country, and these are long-term investments that provide an inflation hedge for us.”

Beyond the infrastructure push, the PenCom boss disclosed that the Commission has approved an independent global benchmark maturity assessment for the Nigerian pension industry to ensure operators align with international best practices.

‎‎She stated that the initiative aims to elevate the Nigerian pension ecosystem across corporate governance, market compliance, and operational best practices.

‎‎Oloworaran further revealed that the regulator and industry leaders are formalising the Pension Transformation Agenda 2030 (Pensions 2030) to streamline current reforms and outline strategic goals for the decade.