The Lagos State House of Assembly has introduced a bill seeking to provide lavish post-retirement benefits to the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, with proposals for extravagant life pension, accommodation, security and medical cover for the two officials and their families.

The bill is seeking to amend the state’s Public Office Holder Law of 2007 which already provides those benefits to past governors and their deputies.

The existing law was pushed through by Ahmed Tinubu who was governor between 1999 and 2007.

The lawmakers now want to extend the largesse to themselves, and the amendment seeks to insert the words “and includes the Speaker (and) the Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly” after “State” in the interpretation of “Public Office Holder”.

The move is coming as the All Progressives Congress, APC, the ruling party in the state, rallies widespread support as it seeks to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party at the federal level, with a pledge to drastically cut down the cost of governance.

According to the bill “A Law to Amend the Law to Provide For the Payment of Pensions and Other Benefits to Public Office Holders in Lagos State and For Connected Purposes,” a copy of which was made available to PREMIUM TIMES, the Speaker, as well as his Deputy, will be receiving 100 percent of their annual basic salary as pension.

The sum is to be reviewed every five years or when there is salary review of the political office holders by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

The bill also aims to provide both officers with one car each and one residential house each at any location of their choice in Lagos as well as free medical treatment.

The law holds that any person who held office as an elected governor or deputy governor is entitled to an annual basic salary equal to 100 per cent of the annual salary of the incumbent governor or deputy-governor of Lagos State, subject to review every five years or salary review by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission in line with section 210 (3) of the constitution as amended in 2011.

According to the law: “Any person duly elected as public office holder shall upon the successful completion of his term be entitled to a grant of pension for life by the state; Provided that such a person shall not be entitled to a grant of pension under this law if he was removed from office by the process of impeachment or for breach of any provision of the constitution.’’

The bill also follows a recent amendment to the Nigerian Constitution allowing the Senate President and deputy, Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy, to enjoy life pensions and other premium perks.

Those benefits were only available to past presidents and Chief Justices of the Federation.
The amendment to the Constitution emanated from the two chambers, and has been approved by more than 24 states assembly, effectively making it law.

Several Nigerian governors have also perfected secret laws in their respective states, granting billions of naira worth of benefits for themselves and their families when they leave office.

Nigerians reacts

A Lagos based Constitutional lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, described the move by the Lagos State House of Assembly as “insensitive and irresponsible”.

“They are not taking into account the vast issue of the prohibitive cost of governance that the political party in charge of Lagos State claims it want to prune down,” Mr. Ogunye said.

“The legislature in this political environment can claim they want to follow what is practised elsewhere, I mean the issue of congressmen being on life pension. But that is still a controversial issue in America.

“However, the argument against that is that political officers are not career public servants, like civil servants who gain employment and work for their entire life before they retire.

“How could politicians who begged the electorates for votes get into that office and start dreaming of how to pay themselves for life?”

Mr. Ogunye said that Lagosians have a duty to stop this kind of “legislative rascality”, noting that the legislature ought to have revisited the Public Office Holder Law introduced by the executive and scrap it.

“If they are not able to curtail the excesses of the executive, they should not add salt to injury by saying that what is good for the goose is good for the gander

“What they are doing is engaging in statutory stealing, using the law to sanctify official stealing. That is not why they are there. And what are they doing to be entitled to life salary?”

According to Debo Adeniran, Executive Director of Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, CACOL, Lagosians should have risen up when the Public Office Holder Law was signed in 2007.

“The thing about bourgeoisie politics is the capacity of politicians to make more than enough money for themselves,” said Mr. Adeniran, whose organization kicked against the law in 2007.

“We have always advocated for part-time legislature and for politicians to leave all the requisites of office after their tenure.

“But if Lagosians had tolerated this at the level of the executive, then there is no moral standing to say that the law shouldn’t include other arms of government.”

Details of new bill

Highlights of the existing Lagos State Public Office Holder Law include:

Annual basic salary: 100 percent of annual basic salaries of the incumbent governor and deputy.

Accommodation: One residential house in Lagos and another in FCT for the former governor; one residential house in Lagos for the deputy.

Transport: Three cars, two back-up cars and one pilot car for the ex-governor, to be replaced every three years; two cars, one back-up car and one pilot car for the deputy, also to be replaced every three years.

Furniture: 300 percent of annual basic salary every two years.

House maintenance: 10 percent of annual basic salary.

Domestic staff: Cook, steward, gardener and other domestic staff who shall be pensionable.

Medical: Free medical treatment for ex-governor and deputy and members of their families.

Security: Two SSS operatives, one female officer, eight policemen (four each for house and personal security) for the ex-governor; one SSS operative and two policemen (one each for house and personal security) for the deputy.

Personal Assistant: 25 percent of annual basic salary.

Car maintenance: 30 percent of annual basic salary.

Entertainment: 10 percent of annual basic salary.

Utility: 20 percent of annual basic salary.

Drivers: Pensionable.

Continue reading “Lagos Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Give Speaker, Deputy Life Pension, Lavish Benefits”

Anthony Cardinal Okogie and other prominent Nigerians yesterday berated President Goodluck Jonathan over the alleged plan to force the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, to go on terminal leave.

They warned that such a move would have a devastating effect on the nation’s democracy.

The warning comes on the heel of the alarm raised on Thursday by the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senate caucus about the alleged plot.

Cardinal Okogie said it would be wrong for government to get rid of Jega at this point in time.

His words: “If he is not due or not meant for terminal leave, which then would be an illegal move, then the court will have to look into it. Prof Jega has his fundamental human right. If he is not meant to be on terminal leave, then he can fight for his fundamental human right.”

Prominent jurist, Professor Itse Sagay ( SAN), said it would be rash and irresponsible of government to remove Jega.

He said it would not be in the best interest of the ruling party to allow this to happen. Continue reading “BREAKING!!! Jonathan Under Attack …Over Plan To Sack Jega”

By Chukwudi Nweje  / Acting Features Editor

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) has said that the Federal Government has concluded arrangements and may soon drag General Muhammadu Buhari, Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the 2011 Electoral violence in the country to face alleged charges of human rights abuses and criminality.

Femi Fani-Kayode PDPPCO spokesman said the government would first demystify Buhari by defeating him at the polls before dragging him to the ICC against the backdrop that it will be risky to arrest him now over the 2011 violence as it would raise dust. “After his rejection at the poll, General Buhari may have to prepare to face charges of human rights abuses and criminality filed against him before the International Criminal Court on account of the 2011 electoral violence in Nigeria,” he said.

The African Herald Express had earlier reported on its February 20, 2015 edition that Dutch lawyers– Prakken d’Oliveira, a Human Rights Law Firm based in Amsterdam has filed a criminal complaint against Buhari at the ICC. The firm is said to be acting on behalf of the Nigerian Northern Coalition for Democracy and Justice and two individual victims. It will be recalled that several hundreds of lives had been lost and property worth several millions of naira destroyed following violence that greeted the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declaration of President Goodluck Jonathan winner of the presidential election of 2011. Many have attributed the violence to Buhari’s alleged statement to make the country ungovernable.

In fact, some argue that that post election violence was a pogrom specifically targeted at specific category of Nigerians. Articles 5, 6 and 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court which entered into force on 1 July 2002 gives the ICC jurisdiction over the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. These include the crime of genocide; crimes against humanity; war crimes; the crime of aggression among others. Specifically, Article 6 of the statute defined ‘genocide’ to mean “any acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Under law, the passage of time does not in any way invalidate an alleged crime and some argue that the ICC probe would bring justice to the victims of the post 2011 election violence.  Nonetheless, the question remains why now? Why is the PDPPCO making the threat and why did the Federal Government have to wait four years before moving to action? Some analysts believe that the threat is meant to cow the opposition.

Joe Igbokwe, Publicity Secretary of the Lagos State Chapter of APC described the threat as blackmail. He said: “Buhari in 2015 is just too big for anybody to toy with.  He has become a firebrand, an avatar, a colossus and the rock of Gibraltar. Buhari is now a massive movement that cannot be stopped. Probe him if you can but I know they do not have the courage to do so.”

The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL), however sees nothing wrong in the probe but the timing makes it suspicious; adding that it could be used as an electioneering tool to witch hunt the opponent.

Debo Adeniran, the executive chairman queried: “2011 till now is about four years and so why should a government wait for four years if it is doing what it has to do with good intention. If it is an efficient government, must they just be looking while such heinous crime was committed and if it has enough proof to have suspected the APC Presidential Candidate, why haven’t they got him arrested and gone to court immediately the crime was committed, why waiting till now?”

He added: “One thing we do not believe is that, the probe at this time would be free and fair. All indications during the campaign have indicated that the regime is looking for every means of nailing Gen Muhammadu Buhari. It is evident in their Adverts, it is evident in their documentary and this shows that they want to carry out a hostile investigation and there is nothing to show us that all the evidences would not be contrived and witnesses tutored to give evidence against their victim.

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Olisa Agbakoba has faulted the PDPPCO as he described Fani- Kayode’s statement as witty. He wondered how the PDPPCO spokesman can prosecute Buhari when he is not the Attorney-General of the Federation.

“I don’t think Fani- Kayode can say so because he doesn’t have any political power. He is not the Attorney-General of the federation.  We are tired of mudslinging. We are not babies. Let us face issues. We are interested in what President Jonathan or Buhari will do if elected, not these bitter campaigns of calumny against one another” he concluded.

By Jeremiah Adeosun

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His invective and acid sarcasms targeted at the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) General Muhammadu Buhari may have left some Nigerians in consternation nay, bewilderment but to many others the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, is merely treading his familiar terrain of controversy. What political analysts and pundits are seeking answers to, however, is the question as to why the ‘rampaging’ governor appeared to have developed a pathological phobia for the APC presidential ticket bearer.
What seemed the most unkind salvo from Governor Fayose and carefully targeted at Buhari came in the form of newspaper adverts which graced the front page of The Punch and Daily Sun newspapers on January 19. The bizarre adverts, which had the pictures of some northern Nigerian leaders that died in office, suggested that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), retired General Muhammadu Buhari, could also die in office, if elected president. Continue reading “Politics Of 2015 Election: Why Fayose Is Up In Arms Against Buhari”