Kano and Bayelsa Houses of Assembly passed obnoxious bills recently, approving life pension for lawmakers.
The Kano law, intended to favour the speaker and deputy speaker, stipulates that “any person duly elected, as speaker or deputy speaker shall, on completion of his term, be entitled to a grant of pension for life by the state, provided that such person was not removed from office through impeachment by members of the House of Assembly.
“There shall be paid pension to persons, who held office as speaker and deputy speaker equal to the emoluments of a serving speaker and deputy speaker, provided that either the speaker or the deputy does not hold any paid elective or selective appointment.”
The law also entitles the lawmakers to new luxury cars to be changed every four years, and foreign medical treatment at the expense of the state government.
The Bayelsa version of the pension bill was more outrageously generous as it extended the permanent perks to all members of the state House of Assembly, besides the state governor and deputy.
The bill further specified that a speaker shall be entitled to N500,000 and the deputy speaker shall be entitled to N300,000 monthly. Other members also had various sums allocated to them, as pension benefits.
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Interestingly, the Bayelsa law included as beneficiaries lawmakers, who had served in the old Rivers State out of which Bayelsa was created.
The bills rightly attracted wide condemnation from civil society groups and members of the public, who appealed against their being assented to by the Bayelsa an Kano governors.
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in a letter to the Bayelsa governor dated 26 April 2019 signed by its deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, noted that: “The bill amounts to an incorrect and improper performance of public functions. It’s clearly an abuse of legislative functions by the lawmakers. Rather than sponsoring bills that would improve access of children in Bayelsa to quality education, the lawmakers are taking advantage of their entrusted public positions to propose a bill to collect large severance benefits.”
SERAP further contended that the lawmakers were the major beneficiaries of the life pension bill, and that by its passage into law, they had violated the constitutional and international prohibitions on conflicts of interest. The group, therefore, urged the state governor, Seriake Dickson, not to sign the bill into law. A similar letter was also written to the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Governor Dickson promptly declined assent to the bill when it was presented to him. Dickson contended in his letter to the lawmakers that the bill was inconsistent with Section 124 of the Constitution. He was of the view that the state assembly lacked the powers to expand the categories of public servants, who should be entitled to pension.
In withholding his assent, the governor also took into consideration the economic situation in the state, which, he believed, was not suitable to accommodate such pension proposal.
Similarly, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje declined assent to the Kano version of the pension bill.
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The governors’ rejection of the bills is commendable. It is hoped that their remarkable decision would be a reference point for other governors.
The lawmakers had engaged in a self-serving adventure at a time the vast majority of people they represent are wallowing in poverty.
The primary responsibility of the legislators is to make laws for the benefit of the citizens whose mandate they hold in trust. To use the privileged position to make laws to enrich themselves and families without consideration for the implications on fellow citizens is ridiculous and wicked.
It is particularly worrisome that at a time state governments are faced with the challenge of paying backlog of gratuities and pension of retired civil servants; N30,000 new minimum wage as well as improving infrastructure, the lawmakers are interested in continuing to receive free state funds, even after expiration of their tenure.
If allowed to stand, pension for lawmakers will further worsen the fierce struggle to win elections, not with the intention of serving the people, but to enjoy lifelong benefits.
