By Shruti Menon Seeboo
The intersection of long-term institutional capital and national energy development represents one of the most potent economic engines for the African continent. At the 7th Annual Africa Pension Funds and Retirement Summit 2026 in Mauritius, the strategic imperatives guiding this relationship took centre stage. In an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the summit, Dalhat Hassan Dalhat of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) outlined how Nigeria is actively transforming its upstream energy sector to match the stringent risk profiles and evolving mandates of global retirement funds. From the implementation of robust statutory frameworks to navigating currency fluctuations and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria, Dalhat detailed a vision where regulatory transparency directly fosters dignified retirement outcomes and systemic macroeconomic stability.
At the core of the NUPRC’s operational philosophy is a deep-seated recognition of the social contract inherent in pension administration. Established under the landmark Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, the Commission holds a dual mandate to regulate both the commercial and technical aspects of Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas sector. However, Dalhat emphasised that this technical oversight is intricately linked to human welfare. “Regarding the pension industry, at NUPRC, pension is highly important,” Dalhat stated. “We don’t joke with dignified retirement. There is sustainable growth and we pay attention to details and we always have a sense of responsibility to ensure that our retirees do not come in contact with old age poverty.”
For an agency deeply embedded within a nation operating a monoeconomy, where oil and gas serves as the financial backbone, boosting production is not merely about industrial output—it is about securing the broader pension ecosystem. “We generate funds for the country,” Dalhat explained, noting that the NUPRC remains intensely focused on its mandate to drive national revenue. “By boosting production, it means that more money coming into the government and by that there will be an avenue to build infrastructures, there will be an avenue to ensure that every Nigerian enjoys a good healthcare, a good lifestyle, a dignified retirement and a very good gratuity. So with that, there will be sanity and there will be good health, and by the special grace of God, there will be a new paradigm shift within the Nagini ecosystem when it comes to the oil and gas revenue generation and whatever in the direction of what transformation is all about.”
While the PIA 2021 has unlocked unprecedented commercial opportunities within the Nigerian energy landscape, institutional asset managers traditionally remain highly risk-averse when evaluating infrastructure and energy projects. To bridge this gap and demonstrate administrative best practices, the NUPRC maintains a highly structured internal pension environment governed strictly by the Pension Reform Act 2014. The Commission concurrently operates both a Defined Benefit Pension Scheme and a Defined Contributory Pension Scheme. To ensure the utmost fiduciary responsibility and capital protection for its historical defined benefit liabilities, the NUPRC recently completed a rigorous transition from NNPC Pension Fund Limited. “Presently, we were able to move from NNPC Pension Fund Limited,” Dalhat revealed. “We are able to secure 3 PFAs to manage the defined benefit scheme. We have engaged them in various ways to ensure that wherever our funds are, they should be engaged, invest in such a way that our retirees will enjoy a dignified retirement.”
For its contributory pension scheme, the Commission enforces strict, rapid compliance measures to guarantee capital preservation and consistent market exposure for its workforce. Dalhat noted that contributions from both the employer and employee are remitted directly to the chosen financial institutions almost immediately after payroll processing. “Contribution both from employer and employee are remitted to the PFAs a day after salaries has been paid,” he explained. “And we follow up to ensure that all remittances go into the retirement savings account of all our employees.”
As international pension funds face increasingly stringent sustainability mandates, Nigeria faces the delicate task of maximising its fossil fuel revenues while participating in the regional transition towards green energy. Dalhat was resolute that the NUPRC views global sustainability trends not as an obstacle, but as an inevitable benchmark for modern regulatory bodies. “Nigeria as a country, we cannot run away from globalisation,” he observed. “The world is evolving and we are ready for it. The vision at the NUPRC is to be the African leading regulator. We have the technology and we have the governance and we are ready to move in the right direction.” This forward-looking approach positions ESG compliance as a core pillar of Nigeria’s regulatory evolution, preparing the state to absorb discerning global capital. “We are ready to move into the next stage in order to align with global best practice,” he stated. “So ESG is the way to go, green energy is the way to go and we are ready to adopt and to adapt.”
With the summit hosted in Mauritius—a premier financial hub specialising in cross-border investment structuring—the potential to leverage international frameworks to launch mega energy funds backed by pan-African pension capital remains immense. Dalhat emphasised that adaptation to these cross-border mechanisms is essential for survival in a shrinking global market. “Exactly. The world is shrinking. The world is becoming a global village,” he said. “So what we have in the world today is what we call global best practices. If you don’t move with change, then you have yourself to blame. Change is inevitable, so you must move with the world trend. If you go all across the continent from Africa to Europe to Asia, all the countries are moving towards one direction. transformation and no country will want to be left behind. So at the NUPRC we are doing our best to ensure that everything goes in line with global best practice.”
A persistent challenge for African pension fund managers navigating long-term infrastructure commitments is the erosion of capital caused by macroeconomic instability. Reflecting on the collaborative dialogues at the summit, which featured insights from diverse jurisdictions including South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, the United Kingdom, Norway, and the Netherlands, Dalhat identified currency devaluation and inflation as the primary hurdles that African regulators and central banks must collaboratively solve. “We came, we had, we have listing, we were able to brainstorm,” Dalhat reflected. “One of the challenges we face in Nigeria is currency devaluation and inflation.”
He argued that the ultimate actionable strategy involves creating a tightly coordinated, stabilised economic environment to safeguard the purchasing power of citizens decades into the future. “As long as the pension funds managers and the Central Bank of Nigeria in conjunction with the central government will give an avenue for economic stability in such a way that capital is not lost, the PFAs and the pension managers will have an enabling environment to invest pension funds in the right direction without inflation and devaluation affecting it,” Dalhat concluded. “And I’m very sure it is going to be a very good strategy and nobody after retirement is going to be changed by having big money in his pocket with lesser value. Lesser value means lesser purchasing power of whatever currency he has.” Through the continuous refinement of the PIA framework and a strict adherence to transparent governance, the NUPRC aims to deliver exactly that stability—driving a transformation that turns national energy wealth into permanent, inflation-protected security.
