Members of the Minority Caucus in the Senate has sent a petition to the Committee on Establishment and Public Service, seeking the disqualification of Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar as the Director-General of the National Pension Commission.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), had penultimate week sent the name of Dahir-Umar to the Senate, seeking the lawmakers’ confirmation for her to be the substantive DG of the agency.

Dahir-Umar, from the North-East geopolitical zone, is currently holding the position in an acting capacity.

She is being nominated as the substantive DG alongside other nominees including Dr Oyindasola Oluremi Oni, from the North Central, as chairman.

Others, nominated as commissioners, were Hannatu Musa (North-West); Clement Akintola (South-West); Ayim Nyerere (South-East), and Charles Emukowhale (South-South).

Some senators led by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, kicked against the nomination of Dahir-Umar, claiming that her appointment was not only against the federal character principle but also contrary to the Act which established the agency.

Despite the protest, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, referred her appointment to the Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters for screening.

The development has, therefore, forced the Minority Caucus of the red chamber to forward a petition to the panel demanding that Dahir-Umar should not be cleared for the appointment.

The letter dated 14 October 2020 was signed on their behalf by the Senate Minority Leader and addressed to the Chairman of the Committee.

It was titled, ‘A Petition against the Nomination of Aisha Dahir-Umar as Director-General of Pension Commission.’

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The letter read in part, “I hereby forward herewith a petition in respect to the above subject matter to alert you on the inherent non-adherence to the provision of the Act that established PenCom.

“The purpose therewith is for the distinguished committee to stop activities that could lead to the clearance of the nomination of Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar as Director-General of the National Pension Commission because her nomination is in flagrant breach of the Act, particularly the section that deals with the replacement of the DG when the need arises.

“May I draw your attention to section 20(1) and section 21(1) and (2) of the National Pension Commission Act 2014, which states that, ‘in the event of a vacancy, the President shall appoint a replacement from the geopolitical zone of the immediate past member that vacated office to complete the remaining tenure.

“It is, therefore, in line with the spirit and letter of the constitution, which we all swore to uphold as Senators and in adherence to the provisions of the National Pension Act 2014, that I urge you, distinguished colleagues, to reject the nomination of Mrs Aisha Dahir-Umar.”

Some aggrieved workers of the National Pension Commission under the aegis of Pension Reform Advocacy Group had also last week petitioned the Senate, expressing their opposition to the confirmation of Dahir-Umar as the substantive DG of the agency.