These are the basic facts: The Enugu State Pension Law had been in existence since 2007. Two years after Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi came to power, the law was amended and had operated at the amended level until Thursday, March 11, when the leader of the State House of Assembly, Ikechukwu Ezugwu, dusted it up and presented it at the plenary for review.
It reads in part: “There shall be provided by the state government for a former governor the following: -a personal assistant on salary grade level 14; annual basic salary as fixed by law and house maintenance allowance fixed by at 300 per cent of annual basic salary.” For instance, it was gathered that in January last year, an Industrial Court acting in a suit brought by a former acting governor of Taraba State, Garba Umar, had declared as null and void, payment of pension and gratuity to former governors and deputy governors, that are not in consonance with the one fixed by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
“So, in a year, the state would spend 5 X N153, 800,000=N769, 000,000 on five former governors alone, N384, 500,000 on the former deputies. That is: N769 000 000 + N384 500 000=N1, 153,500,000 every year,” he added. When he led a protest to the House of Assembly on Tuesday, shortly before the suspension of further deliberation on the bill, Executive Director of South Saharan Social Development Organization , Dr. Stanley Ilechukwu, had described the bill as insensitive and ill-timed in the face of current economic challenges, which he said had retarded development.“We remind the honorable members that similar laws have been repealed by their counterparts in Lagos, Zamfara and Kwara.
Nigerian press do your duty and call for accountability. Stop being an agent of frustration for these people. DO YOUR DUTY