Ex-governors’ pay
• This should reflect economic realities rather than special status
The Abia State Governor’s and Deputy Governor’s Pensions Repeal Law 2024, signed into law by Governor Alex Otti has elicited excitement across the country, because most Nigerians wish similar laws for their states. The law scrapped pension for former governors and their deputies. No doubt, some state pension laws may have been made with the best of intentions, but most have been bastardised and criminally abused. Most are excessive and obnoxious, and give the impression that the beneficiaries are special, different from Nigerians who served in other capacities.
So, we call on states with excessive pension benefits for former governors and deputies to amend the laws to reflect the economic realities facing all Nigerians. Those who feel that such pension laws are unnecessary, like Abia State, should go ahead and repeal them. No doubt, the Abia example has elicited a lot of reactions, with political actors hailing the move.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo hailed the Abia example and urged other states to emulate same. He noted that some states have failed to pay pensions to those who worked for 30 years whereas the pensions of their political office holders are paid as soon as they are leaving office.
Former Senate President and chairman, Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Adolphus Wabara, said the pension laws were “well intended to dissuade governors from being corrupt while in office. The idea was that if such a law was passed, the governors would be contented with whatever they are earning, believing that when they leave office, they will have something to fall back on.” He however noted that such a well-intentioned law has been subjected to abuse by some governors.
What rankles most people is that states which are unable to pay basic pensions to their retirees joined the bandwagon of states providing humongous pensions for their former governors and deputy governors. Instead of cutting their coats according to their clothes, they promulgate pension laws to imitate states which are far richer, disregarding the disparity in the cost of living in the states. Yet, their arrears of pension run into several years, which is condemnable.
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What seems a reasonable middle ground was adopted by the Lagos State House of Assembly nearly three years ago, when it amended the state pension law and reduced the entitlement of the former state chief executives by 50 per cent. It equally removed the provision of houses in Abuja, and reduced the number of cars for the beneficiaries, as well as the intervals for change of the cars.
There is also a complaint that some former governors serving in other capacities are receiving salaries and pension.
Recently, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) wrote to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to enforce the judgment of Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, delivered on November 26, 2019, which, amongst other declarations, ‘granted mandamus compelling the Attorney-General of the Federation to urgently institute appropriate legal actions to challenge the legality of states’ laws permitting former governors, serving as senators and ministers to enjoy former governors’ emoluments while drawing normal salaries and allowances in their new political offices’. SERAP called for the restoration of constitutionalism and rule of law.
We agree that the provision of pension for former governors after four or eight years of service defeats the constitutional provision for minimum of 10 years of service. Also, receiving double emoluments from state and federal purse is double jeopardy for the ordinary Nigerians, languishing in abject poverty and penury under the harsh economic difficulties.
We therefore urge the Nigerian political leadership to harken the calls for review of the benefit structure for all public workers, whether in political office or civil service.
To ignore the stringent calls is an invitation to chaos and anarchy. After all, what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.
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