From Uche Usim, Abuja

Director-General of the National Pensions Commission (PENCOM), Mrs. Chinelo Anohu-Amazu yesterday handed over reigns of office to the Head of Corporate Responsibility and Servicom Department of the agency, Aisha Dahir-Umar, amidst raging controversies over her sudden disengagement. 

The handover letter, a copy of which was sighted through a reliable source at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), was delivered to PenCom head office and copied to the OSGF on Monday morning.

In the letter dated April 21, 2017 and entitled “Handing Over the Affairs of the National Pension Commission”, Mrs. Anohu-Amazu wrote: “Following the notification of my disengagement as Director-General vide a letter from the Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF) at 5.45pm on April 21, 2017, I, hereby, hand over the affairs of the National Pension Commission to you as the most senior officer in the Commission. This is in accordance with the directives in the letter, pending the appointment of a Director-General.

“You would recall that at the exit meeting with the Heads of Department on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, I had requested that handover notes be prepared ahead of the notification of formal handover directives from the OSGF.

“In the circumstances, therefore, kindly co-ordinate this effort and ensure that it is executed for the incoming Executive Management Team.

“While I have no doubt that you would discharge your responsibility diligently, I pray the Almighty God guides you in service to our great nation”.

Recall that men of the Department of State Security (DSS) had, on Friday, invaded the PENCOM head office and took over the entrance and exit points even as staff were frisked as they left office. 

Their raid sprang from an alleged refusal of the DG to hand over and, also, to prevent possible tampering with official documents.

However, sources at PenCom said the outgone DG had, on Tuesday, the first day of work after the Easter holiday, following the Thursday, April 13, 2017, announcement of her removal from office, met with HODs and directed them to prepare their handover notes pending official communication to her on whom to handover to.

The source added: “Madam was very eager to leave. Even when she was informed that the long-awaited letter of disengagement had finally come last Friday evening, she was prepared to come back and hand over that night, but was told that the she would not meet anybody in the office as men of the DSS had discharged all staff, while also frisking them on their way out. 

“The DSS got it totally wrong as their presence before she got a formal letter of disengagement was an unnecessary act of intimidation as she could not have handed over without a written notification and official directive.”