Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has urged
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi, “to join us in
promoting and supporting legislative measures to redirect public funds
spent to provide life pensions to former governors for the benefit of the
most marginalized and disadvantaged Nigerians, rather than issuing threat
of legal action against us for exposing the existence of unfair and
discriminatory life pensions states’ laws.”
The organization said, “Dr Fayemi’s dramatic accusation regarding the
content of our letter to the Attorney General of the Federation and
Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami SAN is unjustified, especially given
that the law allowing pensions for governors in Ekiti was passed and/or
facilitated and retained during his tenure as governor of the State. The
Minister’s threat can only serve to undermine legitimate efforts to
promote transparency, accountability and sustainable development in
Nigeria.”
SERAP’s statement came after Dr Fayemi last week in a statement accused
SERAP of embarrassing him by adding his name to the list of governors
receiving double pay and life pensions while also receiving salaries and
other emoluments as either senators or ministers. The Minister also gave
SERAP 7 days to retract the statement or face legal action.
But SERAP in a statement on Sunday by its executive director Adetokunbo
Mumuni said, “As a former pro-democracy activist, Dr Fayemi is well-known
to us but we do not agree with the accusation that our letter targets the
minister or intends to embarrass him in any way shape or form. Our
objectives remain to promote the abolition of those obnoxious states’
laws, which seek to allow former governors to receive life pensions either
now or in the future when friendly governments are in place in their
states, and to secure full recovery of public funds.”
The letter read in part: “The problems of former governors receiving
double pay and life pensions are real governance issues and deserve
serious attention. These have to be put in the context of the allegation
that state governors have over the years stolen in excess of N1 trillion
including bailout funds meant for the payment of workers and pensioners’
entitlements and benefits in their states. By threatening legal action
against SERAP on the matters, Dr Fayemi’s statement provides little more
than unhelpful distraction.”
“Our aim is to let Nigerians know that such laws exist in several states,
and to show how much state governments can do with our commonwealth if
governors can focus on the right priorities—health, education, timely
payment of ordinary workers’ salaries, and backlog of pensions for
millions of pensioners struggling to enjoy the fruits of their
labour—rather than on signing and passing laws that allow former governors
to draw unfair pay and life pensions simply for serving for 4 or 8 years.”
“SERAP has no reason to apologise for doing our work, and will never back
down from pursuing these matters, and will continue to work even harder to
ensure that states’ laws allowing former governors to claim either
presently or in the future life pensions are declared illegal and
abolished.”
“The point is not just that several of the governors listed in our letter
are receiving life pensions now but also that unless those states’ laws
are declared illegal and nullified, other governors that may not be
presently claiming life pensions will potentially be entitled to receive
such pensions in the future when friendly governments are in place in
their states.”
“These states’ laws allowing former governors to receive life pensions
either now or in the future have a discriminatory purpose that involves an
intent to discriminate against ordinary workers and pensioners. Such laws
enhance the economic status of public officials and their families at the
expense of the citizens that they are elected to serve, have no legitimacy
at all, and cannot be justified either on legal or moral grounds.”
“SERAP is concerned that such laws have either the purpose or the effect
of denying the citizens their right to the enjoyment of their
commonwealth, and as such, prolonging the existing and entrenched
poverty-gaps across the country. The implementation of these laws will
continue to lock the citizens, especially the most marginalized and
vulnerable groups, into lives of deprivation and hopelessness.”
“SERAP holds the firm view that there are clear casual and consequential
links between implementation of unfair life pensions’ laws for former
governors and violation of human dignity of citizens. Such laws deprive
citizens of resources, capabilities, freedoms and choices necessary for
the enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and sustainable
livelihood.”
“The abolition of such laws therefore is a necessary first step towards
delivering on the constitutional promise of equal protection and equal
benefit of the law for a distressingly large number of Nigerians.
Otherwise, public officials will remain seriously out of touch with a
major source of poverty and discrimination in the country.”
It would be recalled that SERAP had last week in an open letter called on
the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) to within
seven days challenge the legality of states’ laws allowing former
governors to draw life pensions from their states.
The letter dated 14 July 2017 read in part: “Public interest is not well
served when government officials such as former governors, deputies
supplement their emoluments in their current positions with life pensions
and emoluments drawn from their states’ meagre resources, and thereby
prioritising their private or personal interests over and above the
greatest happiness of the greatest number.”
“By signing such double emoluments and large benefits laws which they knew
or ought to know that they would be beneficiaries, these former governors
have abused their entrusted public functions and positions, and thereby
obtained an undue advantage, contrary to article 19 of the UN Convention
against Corruption.”