10th NASS: Akpabio, 13 Other Ex-Govs Told To Disclose Their Pension

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and 13 other former governors in the 10th Senate have been told to disclose their pensions from their various states.

The request was made by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in a statement by the group’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare on Sunday, Naija News understands.

According to him, Akpabio and the others should “disclose the total amount of life pensions, if any, that have been received from your states as former governors.”

The SERAP deputy boss told new lawmakers who are former governors to “promptly clarify if you have collected and/or currently collecting life pensions as former governors from your respective states, to stop collecting any such pensions and return the pensions collected to the treasury.”

He submitted that “Nigerians expect you to act in the public interest including by ending the collection of any life pensions from your respective states and returning any such pensions that may have been collected to the treasury.

“Collecting life pensions as former governors while in the Senate would clearly violate constitutional provisions and amount to taking advantage of entrusted public positions.”

Oluwadare confirmed there are 14 former governors including the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly.

He opined that they should all emulate former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki who stopped collecting life pensions as a former governor of Kwara State and described life pensions by former governors as “immoral”.

The group listed former governors that receive pensions as Godswill Akpabio (Akwa-Ibom State); Adams Oshiomhole (Edo State); Adamu Aliero (Kebbi State); Dave Umahi (Ebonyi State); Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto State); and Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger State).

Others are: Ibrahim Danwkambo (Gombe State); Danjuma Goje (Gombe State); Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara State); Gbenga Daniel (Ogun State); Aliyu Wammako (Sokoto State); Orji Kalu (Abia State); Ibrahim Gaidam (Yobe State); and Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa State).

It also identified states implementing life pensions for former governors to include Akwa-Ibom, Abia, Edo, Jigawa, Niger, Kebbi, Kano, Sokoto, Jigawa, Cross River, Ebonyi, Enugu, Benue, Gombe, Yobe, Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau, Katsina, Rivers, and Delta. Many of these states owe workers’ salaries and remain the poorest in the country.