A three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, Abuja had on May 20, 2019 faulted the payment of either severance allowance, pension or gratuity to political office holders and political appointees, insisting that the practice was morally wrong.
Also, Lagos-based legal practitioner, Theophilus Akanwa, who agreed with the judgment submitted that Nigerians were yet to really have true representation by virtually all the houses of assembly and the National Assembly. He stressed that rather than think in the direction of having pension, gratuity and severance package, the lawmakers should as a matter of urgency, drastically reduce the huge tax payers’ money they spend.
“They work hand in hand with the governors without minding that they are independent of the executive. Budgets are passed without proper protection of the interest of the masses, but their personal interests are well protected,” he pointed out. Akanwa called on all well meaning Nigerians to rise against the attempt by the lawmakers to appropriate state funds for themselves.
According to him, “Some give up the opportunity to build a career by serving in legislature. If you serve for 20 years, for example, your contemporaries outside the legislature are about retiring and getting pension.