Workers under the aegis of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have called for the repeal of the obnoxious legislation on payment of salaries and pensions to ex-governors and political office holders after leaving office.
According to the labour centre, no fewer than 21 former governors and deputy governors who benefit from the pensions at various states of the federation are currently serving as senators or ministers in the present administration.
Ayuba Wabba, NLC president, expressed the displeasure via a statement titled: ‘No double salary for any public officer’.
“We are saddened by the recent revelations that not less than 21 governors and deputy governors are senators or ministers and drawing billions of naira in pension payment and salaries (at the same time) while millions of wage earners go without salaries for months on end.
“Our revulsion stems from the fact that most, if not all of these ex-Governors coerced or seduced their various Houses of Assembly into approving for them these bogus and illegitimate pension rates and property (as cars and houses) in contravention of the extant laws and regulations by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
“Similarly, they are mindlessly drawing these allowances (that they do not need) from our commonwealth when the states are in serious financial difficulty and poverty is rife in the land. They get paid regularly whether the state can afford it nor not.
“We hold the view that State laws are subordinated to Federal laws and when there is a conflict they should give way to the Federal laws.
“We similarly hold the view that it offends the principle of universal justice, equity and good conscience when laws are specifically or premeditatively made for or against an individual or a group of individuals in order to exact an undue advantage or revenge,” Wabba said.
On her part, Vivian Bellonwu-Okafor, head, Social Action, Abuja office, described it as “misguided pension legislation by State Assemblies,” and argued that the pensions Act as passed by some Houses of Assembly providing life pension for state governors and their deputies in states such as Akwa-Ibom, Rivers, Lagos, Kwara, among others, was unjustifiable and anti-people, hence “should be repealed in the larger interest of the citizens whose well-being has been compromised by this legislation.
“In many cases, this obnoxious legislation amongst others provide for former Governors and their deputies several inexplicable benefits which include; houses in choice locations in cities round the country, fleet of cars, retinue of domestic staff who would all be pensionable for life, free medical expenses covering immediate and extended family members, Security details made up of the State Security Service SSS operatives, mobile and regular police men as well as military personnel for them and family members, 100 percent salary as pension, medical allowance of several millions annually, education for family members and relations to prestigious universities in the world as well as huge allocations to the tune of billions of naira as allowances to these former governors, their deputies and family members amongst several other obscene provisions.
“This is even as these governments have variously forums admitted the dire financial situation they face with many owing arrears of salaries and projects abandoned.
And so, it is therefore surprising that the state would rather than taking steps to shore-up its revenue profile thereby increasing its economic viability and capacity to deliver quality governance to the people, the government would instead opt for the further bloating of the already over bloated fortunes of these ex-governors and their deputies who by all standards are known to be stupendously rich with some of these ex-Governors being even richer than the state itself with large percentage of their wealth illegally amassed.
It is also unfortunate that the Assemblies of these States became implicit in such anti-people’s acts by passing such bills into law through equally flawed, shoddy and compromised processes.
“This law is undemocratic, anti-people, unpopular and unjustifiable and should therefore be repealed in the collective interest of the state and its people as its provisions are unsustainable and will put further pressure on the already weak economy of the states,” Bellonwu-Okafor said.
BusinessDay
