Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has welcomed
\nSenate President Dr Bukola Saraki\u2019s move to \u201cstop receiving pensions from
\nKwara state, where he was the governor between 2003 and 2011, and urges
\nhim to join us in the campaign to end the unjust, unfair and
\ndiscriminatory practice of providing life pensions to former governors and
\nto abolish laws that make this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saraki told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja yesterday
\nthat he wrote a letter to the state government to stop the payment of the
\npension \u201cthe moment I saw that SERAP allegation.\u201d He said, \u201cNo, I\u2019m not
\ncollecting pension; the moment I saw that allegation, I wrote to my state
\nto stop my pension.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement today by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni the
\norganization said, \u201cIt\u2019s good news that Dr Saraki has publicly made known
\nthat he has stopped drawing pensions from Kwara state. We hope that other
\npublic officials still receiving double emoluments will follow Dr Saraki\u2019s
\nexample and renounce such practice. We also urge the Senate President to
\npublicly commit to donating to charities of his choice all pensions and
\nallowances he has so far collected or to such emoluments to the public
\ntreasury.\u201d<\/p>\n
SERAP also asked \u201cthe Senate President to use his leadership position to
\nurgently facilitate a resolution by the National Assembly condemning the
\npractice and laws on double pay and life pensions for former governors now
\nserving public officials; urging state assemblies to abolish such laws;
\nand calling on those that have received such emoluments to return them to
\nthe public treasury.\u201d<\/p>\n
SERAP urged \u201cDr Saraki to work with us to put meaningful pressure on other
\nstates to abolish their unfair and discriminatory life pensions laws as
\nwell as on serving senators and ministers who continue to receive double
\nemoluments to end the practice and return all the emoluments they have so
\nfar received to the public treasury. Dr Saraki can start by putting
\npressure on the governor of Kwara state Mr Abdulfatah Ahmed and the state
\nhouse of assembly to move swiftly to abolish the law that has facilitated
\nthe payment of the unjust pensions in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be recalled that SERAP had last week in an open letter called on
\nthe Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN) to within
\nseven days challenge the legality of states\u2019 laws allowing former
\ngovernors to draw life pensions from their states.<\/p>\n
The letter dated 14 July 2017 read in part: \u201cPublic interest is not well
\nserved when government officials such as former governors, deputies
\nsupplement their emoluments in their current positions with life pensions
\nand emoluments drawn from their states\u2019 meagre resources, and thereby
\nprioritising their private or personal interests over and above the
\ngreatest happiness of the greatest number.\u201d
\n\u201cBy signing such double emoluments and large benefits laws which they knew
\nor ought to know that they would be beneficiaries, these former governors
\nhave abused their entrusted public functions and positions, and thereby
\nobtained an undue advantage, contrary to article 19 of the UN Convention
\nagainst Corruption.\u201d
\n\u201cThese states\u2019 laws allowing former governors to receive life pensions
\neither now or in the future have a discriminatory purpose that involves an
\nintent to discriminate against ordinary workers and pensioners. Such laws
\nenhance the economic status of public officials and their families at the
\nexpense of the citizens that they are elected to serve, have no legitimacy
\nat all, and cannot be justified either on legal or moral grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP is concerned that such laws have either the purpose or the effect
\nof denying the citizens their right to the enjoyment of their
\ncommonwealth, and as such, prolonging the existing and entrenched
\npoverty-gaps across the country. The implementation of these laws will
\ncontinue to lock the citizens, especially the most marginalized and
\nvulnerable groups, into lives of deprivation and hopelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP holds the firm view that there are clear casual and consequential
\nlinks between implementation of unfair life pensions\u2019 laws for former
\ngovernors and violation of human dignity of citizens. Such laws deprive
\ncitizens of resources, capabilities, freedoms and choices necessary for
\nthe enjoyment of an adequate standard of living and sustainable
\nlivelihood.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe abolition of such laws therefore is a necessary first step towards
\ndelivering on the constitutional promise of equal protection and equal
\nbenefit of the law for a distressingly large number of Nigerians.
\nOtherwise, public officials will remain seriously out of touch with a
\nmajor source of poverty and discrimination in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has welcomed Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki\u2019s move to \u201cstop receiving pensions from Kwara state, where he was the governor between 2003 and 2011,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n