NLC Blasts Saraki and Ekweremadu over Proposed Life Pension

 

The proposed life pension for principal officers of the National Assembly has attracted a barrage of criticisms by the Nigerian public as well as other stakeholders in the polity.

 

The latest criticisms is emanating from the President of the NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba, who has accused the lawmakers of the lower and higher chamber of being blinded by greed and ego.

 

The proposal if considered will see Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara being entitled to pensions till death.

 Wabba, said in a statement on Tuesday that those behind the move only opted to adopt an immoral, bad and illegal model put in place by the governors which could not be sustained according to the Punch.

Wabba said that the pension could only be paid to those who had put in 35 years of meritorious service to the country. He lamented that the concept of pension was being subverted by politicians who awarded huge severance benefits to themselves after four years in office.

He said the decision of some exiting governors to compel the states’ Houses of Assembly to enact laws approving a sizable percentage of state allocation as severance packages was the worst manifestation of greed.

He said, “We are convinced, nothing but ego and greed are the over-riding interest for wanting to put the leadership of the legisture on life pension.

“What the governors have done is unrealistic and immoral and rather than ensure the right thing is done, some senators have elected to set up for themselves a model that is at once bad, immoral, illegal and unsustainable.

“The concept of pension derives from 35 years of meritorious service.  However, politicians in time, subverted this time-honoured practice by awarding themselves generous severance packages after four years in office.

“These packages not only make a mockery of what public servants take, the beneficiaries are paid up front while the average public service pensioner dies on the verification queue!

“The height of this infamy and greed was when exiting governors literally coerced or seduced states’ Houses of Assembly into writing into “Law” their severance packages which take a sizeable percentage of the state’s budget.”