Lagos State may soon join the league of states that have stopped payment of bogus pension to ex-governors and their deputies as a bill has passed the second reading in the state House of Assembly.
The bill was submitted to the House on November 20, 2020, by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the state governor.
Sanwo-Olu is seeking an amendment to the Payment of Pension Law (2017), a move to stop the humongous amount paid to ex-governors and their deputies.
The second reading of the bill held on Monday and was presided over by the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa.
At least 24 states across Nigeria enacted laws providing generous pensions to their former governors and their deputies.
In Lagos, for instance, the two elected officials are entitled to houses in Abuja and Lagos, six new cars every three years, 100 per cent of the incumbent governor’s basic salary (for the governor), and free healthcare for their family members, among others.
If enacted, the bill will scrap payment of these benefits to former governors in the state, including Bola Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Several arguments arose from the second reading of the bill by members of the House, with some in support of the bill.
Rotimi Abiru, representing Shomolu II, said “The public office holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007)” should be amended rather than repealed.
“For a person who has served as chief executive of a state, I do not think it is nice denying them of their benefits.
“I can appreciate that some of them move to other appointments. For these people, there can be a caveat. But for those who serve in that capacity and do not have any other thing to do after office, it may not be something elaborate, but something may be coming to them periodically,” Mr Abiru said.