How A/Ibom Assembly repealed contentious pension law

Contrary to some media reports that members of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly boycotted the sitting of the assembly for the repeal of the controversial ceiling of N100 million medical expenses for ex-governors and deputies, we can report that the majority of the lawmakers sat and amended the law, which was signed into law by the Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio. The amendment, which is the fifth in the 16-year old law, repealed the contentious ceiling of N100 million medical expenses for each ex-governor and his spouse, and a ceiling of N50 million medical expenses for each former deputy governor and his spouse. The law came to birth in 1998 as special grant for past state governors and their deputies, and was further amended in 1999, adopted in 2000 as Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Bill and again in 2007 and 2014 respectively. It will be recalled that the state government had sought to place a ceiling on how much could be spent by the state government on each former governor and former deputy governor and their spouses, but this drew the ire of some members of the public, which misinterpreted the intention of the government. Addressing the press in Lagos in the thick of the controversy, Governor Akpabio, in a speech entitled, ‘The Siege on Truth,’ maintained that the contentious provision was made in good faith and was to check abuses, adding that leaving the law open-ended was not in the best interest of taxpayers. He, however, said he considered the controversy a distraction and had decided to, in his words, “lift the siege on truth” by asking for this provision of the law to be repealed. He added philosophically that “history will vindicate the just.” By signing the amended bill into law, Governor Akpabio kept his promise, even though he pointed out that he would not benefit from the law until he leaves office in 2015.