Oh! Akpabios controversial pension law: MY TAKE Now that Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Godswill Akpabio has been forced to forward a fresh bill for a second amendment to his retirement benefits law within one-week after assenting to the bill, to his rubber stamp House of Assembly led by Mr. Sam Ikon. Let me hasten to say that apart from the aspect that deals with N100m medical benefit of ex-governors as contained in the fraudulent law of which he now seeks to repeal, that there are other fraudulent aspects of the offensive law that should be revisited in the law. These are: 1. Section: (1)(a) Pension for life at a rate equivalent to the salary of the incumbent governor or deputy respectively. This section simply means that the state will be paying several governors and deputy governors at the same time. It will impact negatively on the state treasury. The word EQUIVALENT should be deleted and replaced with 300% of the incumbent governor/deputy governor monthly salaries, respectively. 2.Section: (1)(c) Provision of free medical services for his person and spouse at a sum not exceeding N100m per annum for governor... Obviously, this section is not necessary, it should be DELETED because the present administration is building a world class Specialist Hospital at Itam, Uyo with the taxpayers money. Instead, such state fund (N100m) should be used to adequately equip the Hospital. The ex-governors/ex-deputy governors are first of all, Akwa Ibomites and should seek medical services of the Specialist Hospital as well as other citizens of the state. They should not make themselves super human through this law. 3.Section: (1)(d) Provision of a befitting house not below a 5-bedroom maisonette in either the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja or Akwa Ibom state for the governor and a yearly accommodation allowance of 300% of annual basic salary for the deputy governor. This section is a complete fraud and witchcraft against Akwa Ibom taxpayers because, it leaves avenue for a corrupt former governor to sell his residence either in Abuja or Akwa Ibom to the state at exorbitant amount of money at the detriment of the taxpayers, hiding under this offensive provision. However, if this provision is in anyway necessary, then, I strongly recommend a ceiling amount of money should be fixed for the former governors accommodation and deputy governors rather than leaving it OPEN. I sincerely wish that the Speaker and members of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly will see this second amendment as a window to redeem their already battered image occasioned by their ineptitude to carry their constituencies along through organising public hearing on the bill before passing it within a week of receiving same, to do a thorough job and organise a public hearing on the pension bill. I want to congratulate all Akwa Ibom citizens who stood up against the law and I add that the revisiting of the law by Governor Godswill Akpabio and the House of Assembly is a victory for democracy. No victor, no vanquish! Otuekong Franklyn Isong Social Critic cum Public affairs analyst Human rights activist
Posted on: Wed, 04 Jun 2014 08:39:01 +0000
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