Members of the Edo State House of Assembly reportedly passed a bill recently, granting pensions to themselves. Christened �Pension Rights of Elected Public Officers Law 2004,� the bill, if assented to by Governor Lucky Igbinedion, will pave way for the payment of pension for life to any person who has served as governor, deputy governor or member of the state House of Assembly at a rate equivalent to 100 per cent of their last salary. To justify the odd piece of legislation, David Iyoha, the Speaker of the House, cited Sections 124 (5) and 210 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers the state legislature to make laws regulating the payment of pension and gratuity to public servants.
The curious crave for pension by Edo lawmakers is a reminder of a similar move by their Akwa Ibom counterparts in 2002. The bill was reportedly at the committee stage when, apparently in response to public rage, the lawmakers dumped it. Ditto the desperate but failed bid by the House of Representatives in the first lap of the present administration, to award pension to itself. Young-Harry Adokiye, then representing Akuku-Toru/Asari Toru Federal Constituency, had thus argued when he moved the motion on July 6, 1999: �Some of us are up to sixty-five years, some of us are up to fifty years, some of us are up to 40 years, and hereafter, what would our lives look like?�
Reference was also made to Decree No. 32 of 1999, which provides that past heads of state be paid N350,000, and their deputies N250,000, among other privileges, per month. Reps who opposed the motion had pointed out how short a time four years� service is to deserve pension, when it takes a public servant five years to earn gratuity and ten years to be pensionable. How bad the economy has been and the additional burden lawmakers� pension would constitute to public treasury, the abysmal performance of the legislators, the elevation of their selfish interests above those of the people who voted them into office, etc., were all pointed out by the Reps opposed to the motion. In the end, it did not sail through.
Therefore, the Edo State lawmakers� deft move to �settle� themselves, is obviously borne out of their desire to �insure� their tomorrow, even if it means doing so at the expense of the public. The lawmakers surely know how strenuous it has been for the state to pay regular salaries to its work force right from the eve of Governor Igbinedion�s re-election in 2003, as well as the government�s indebtedness to pensioners, which runs into several millions of naira. For alleged lack of funds, the state publicly declared its inability to pay the minimum wage approved by the Federal Government in 2000. It also did not matter to the lawmakers that the escalating problems of sex slavery and human trafficking that have smeared the state�s image are not unconnected with the crushing poverty and suffering of the people.
The 1999 Constitution vests in the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission the power to determine the remuneration appropriate for political office holders, including legislators (see Third Schedule, Part 1, Section 32 [d]). The House�s reliance on Sections 124 (5) and 210 (1) of the Constitution to justify its gluttony is an abuse of legislative privilege, since the sections refer to pension for �persons in the public service,� and elected members of the House of Assembly are not listed among such persons (see Chapter VIII, Part (IV), Section 318 [1]).
Considering the parlous state of the economy, many Nigerians believe legislative duties should be reserved for selfless and accomplished citizens who are ready to serve the nation on part-time basis. As a nation ranked among the poorest in the world, it is bad enough that the RMAFC has recommended jumbo remunerations, including severance packages, for legislators. But what the Edo people should resist is the attempt to hide under legislative cover to rape the lean resources of the state. Governor Igbinedion should stand by the people at this crucial time. He should call the erring lawmakers to order by refusing to assent to the perfidious bill.
