NGOs ask court to nullify govs’ pension laws

Thirty-six non-governmental organisations in the country as well as two activists have asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to nullify the various laws enacted by the state Houses of Assembly in which the legislators prescribe pension for former governors and their deputies. The 38 plaintiffs, including two activists, Ayodeji Kolawole and Tunde Asaju, jointly filed their suit through their counsel, Mr. Chino Obiagwu, on August 15. The suit has not been assigned to a judge. The plaintiffs, in the affidavit attached to their suit, argue that the state Houses of Assembly lack the legislative competence to enact pension laws for public officials when the constitution has conferred on the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the exclusive power of setting the remuneration of public officials. The plaintiffs add that governors, their deputies and other public officials are not entitled to pension as their retirement benefits are already part of the remunerations being paid to them while in office. Apart from seeking an order nullifying the various pension laws, the plaintiffs also want the court to order the 36 state governors to recover from former governors and deputy governors what they have received in excess of the amounts stipulated by RMAFC as pension. According to the plaintiffs, the pension laws have been enacted in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Benue, Gombe, Kwara, Kogi, Oyo and Lagos states, while the other 29 states are either yet to release theirs to the public or planning to enact similar law.

Punch Newspaper