Akwa Ibom Assembly passes pension bill for ex-governors, deputies

The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on Monday passed Pension Bill 2014 into law. The bill is to take care of the pensions of former Governors and their Deputies. The executive bill, which had earlier passed the first and second reading, seeks pension for life at a rate equivalent to the salary of the incumbent governor to a former governor and deputy. The law provides for a former governor a sum not exceeding N5 million per month to employ domestic staff while the deputy gets N2.5 million for the same purpose. A former governor will be entitled to free medical services for himself and his spouse at a sum not exceeding N100 million per annum and N50 million for a former Deputy Governor. The bill seeks to provide for a former governor a befitting accommodation not below a five-bedroom maisonette in either Abuja or Akwa Ibom State. The bill also provides for yearly accommodation allowance of 300 per cent of annual basic salary for an ex-deputy governor. A former governor will also receive a severance gratuity of 300 per cent of annual basic salary as at the time he leaves office. He will also have N6.7million each for furniture allowance once in every four years, and for fueling and maintaining his vehicle every year. Section 1(1) of the bill states that these benefits, and many more, shall be due to “an indigene of the state who has held office as a democratically elected governor or deputy governor of former Cross River State and a person who has held office as a democratically elected governor or deputy governor of the state shall when he ceases to hold office be entitled”. Other sections of the bill show that ex-governors will receive yearly utility allowance of 100 percent of annual salary, which is the equivalent of N2.2million, while his deputy takes N2.1million. Another N2.2million, equivalent of 100 percent of annual basic salary, will go to ex-governors as entertainment allowance, while N2.1million will go to ex-deputies. After a debate by members, the Deputy House Leader, Dr. Ekaete Okon (PDP), moved a motion for the bill to be read the third time and passed into law. The motion was seconded by Aniekan Akpan (PDP- Ukanafun). After the passage, the Speaker, Hon. Samuel Ikon, directed the Clerk of the House to forward a clean copy of the bill to the Governor, Obong Godswill Akpabio, for endorsement.