A civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called on the 10th National Assembly to enact a law to stop ex-governors in the Senate and House of Representatives from taking pensions while in the parliament.
According to its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, HURIWA said it was not only criminal but gross corruption for ex-governors who have moved to the National Assembly to earn double pay while Nigerians are wallowing in poverty.
The group also urged state Houses of Assembly like Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Delta, Ekiti, Kano, Gombe, Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Abia, Imo, Bayelsa, Oyo, Osun, Kwara, Ondo, Ebonyi, Rivers, Niger, Kogi and Katsina, where there are provisions for life pensions for former governors and other ex-public officials to immediately repeal such bills.
“The 10th National Assembly led by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and House of Representatives’ Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, must immediately enact a law to stop pensions for ex-governors who are in the parliament,” the group said.
“It is criminal and corrupt for anyone to earn double pay and purloin the nation’s treasury funded by taxpayers’ money.
“The 10th NASS, which is unarguably a retirement home for former governors, should do better and expunge this selfish double earning for states to use the money for socio-economic and infrastructure development.
“Also, Akpabio and the other 12 ex-governors in the 10th National Assembly should act like Gbenga Daniel and publicly write the current governors of their states to stop pensions for them.”
The group frowned at a situation where the current Senate President, Akpabio, and 13 other senators would earn over N5.6 billion ex-governors’ pension and benefits for the duration of the 10th National Assembly.
Other ex-governors in the National Assembly who are beneficiaries of humongous pensions include Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Ibrahim-Hassan Dankwambo (Gombe), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara), Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto), Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia), Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa), Adamu Aliero (Kebbi), Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe), Danjuma Goje (Gombe) and Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger).