Pension manager targets equities, infrastructure and private equity to sustain returns for police officers and retirees…..
The Nigeria Police Force Pensions Limited is looking beyond traditional fixed-income investments as declining interest rates put pressure on returns, with the pension manager considering opportunities in Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, First HoldCo and other alternative assets.
The company said it is exploring a broader mix of investments, including equities, infrastructure funds and private equity, as it seeks to protect returns for serving police officers and retirees.
The Acting Managing Director of NPF Pensions, Mohammed Dutse, disclosed this in Abuja on Monday during activities marking the 2026 Customer Service Week.
Dutse said the changing interest-rate environment had made portfolio diversification increasingly important, particularly as pension funds could no longer depend heavily on returns from bank deposits and other fixed-income instruments.
He specifically identified Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals as one of the opportunities attracting the company’s attention.
“As you can see recently, there’s a hype, a lot of hype around Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals. So, we also look up to that as well,” Dutse said.
He added that the company was also examining private equity and infrastructure funds, describing them as some of the alternative investment channels capable of generating competitive returns.
“There are private equity funds, there are infrastructure funds, there are so many investment windows, alternative investments that we can harness to get good returns,” he said.
Dutse said the pension manager was also assessing opportunities in the Nigerian equities market, including shares of major companies.
“Our strategy is a combination of all these instruments in place. We just don’t rely on what banks give us,” he said.
Beyond the stock market, Dutse said infrastructure and energy were among the sectors being considered as the pension manager seeks to strengthen its investment portfolio.
He said recent government policies had opened up new opportunities for institutional investors, particularly in sectors requiring long-term capital.
“The good thing about this government is that they have opened up opportunities for investment,” he said.
“So, you see a lot of investment opportunities springing up, like I mentioned earlier, infrastructure funds, private equity funds and, especially, in the areas of energy.”
According to Dutse, NPF Pensions has recorded average annual investment returns of between 23 and 24 percent over the past five years, with returns reaching almost 37 percent in one of those years.
He said the company had developed strategies aimed at preserving its performance despite changing conditions in the financial markets.
“Clearly, we have worked out some strategies to ensure that we maintain this particular rate of return on our investments, which, of course, is yielding positive returns to all our clients,” he said.
Beyond investment performance, Dutse said NPF Pensions was operating a retirement resettlement support scheme for police officers transitioning from active service into retirement.
The scheme, he explained, is intended to provide financial support to officers during the period between retirement and the release of their pension benefits.
He said thousands of police officers had benefited from the initiative.
The pension manager has also expanded its engagement with contributors through a WhatsApp Business platform, which Dutse said has attracted nearly 100,000 police officers.
The digital service allows contributors to access pension-related services remotely, reducing the need for officers to visit NPF Pensions offices physically.
The focus on improving returns comes against the backdrop of longstanding concerns among retired police officers over their participation in the Contributory Pension Scheme.
Retired officers have repeatedly called for an exit from the scheme, with some staging protests over pension and welfare concerns.
In April, pensioners protested at the entrance of the Presidential Villa, demanding that the government review their inclusion in the contributory scheme.
Meanwhile, the National Pension Commission, PenCom, moved in May to ease restrictions on equity investments by pension fund administrators, allowing them to participate in the planned Dangote Refinery initial public offering.
For NPF Pensions, the evolving investment rules and changing financial environment could provide more room to diversify its portfolio, while the challenge remains to identify assets capable of delivering sustainable returns without exposing contributors’ retirement savings to undue risk.
