Fat pension for ex-govs in new political jobs is incongruous with state of economy

Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) Chairman Mohammed Shehu lately revisited the practice whereby former state governors who take up fresh appointment as senators or ministers yet draw huge pensions from their states. He said houses of assembly should amend respective pension law to suspend such pensions, especially to ex-governors who find immediate employment in political offices where they draw full salaries and allowances.

In an interview with Sunday Vanguard, the revenue commission boss said: A person who has served as governor either for four or eight years as the case may be, then goes on to become senator or minister shouldnt be earning double from public coffers. Many states have laws that provide generous pensions for former governors and these same people become senators or ministers and still collect salaries and other benefits in their new roles, this shouldnt be the case.

Many of the 36 states nationwide have enacted laws giving fat pensions to their ex-helmsmen and deputies. From the Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension) Law, 2007, of Lagos State that is among the earliest, other states have joined the train. The laws typically prescribe huge sums in allowances, mansions in Abuja and respective state, vehicle fleets and exotic furniture renewable at short intervals, besides paid medical expenses and vacations abroad for the former governors and their family members. These are in addition to provision for support staff like cooks and drivers. Many of these laws are in states that can ill-afford to pay workers salaries with regularity, much less pensions of retired workforce. Among them also are states that have been unable to implement the national minimum wage of N30,000.

Some states in recent history pushed for even more outlandish benefits. In the Enugu Gubernatorial Pension Bill, 2021 that scaled first reading in the state assembly before it was suspended amidst public uproar, there was provision for post-humous expenses of an ex-governor / deputy, including financial responsibility for their burial and a condolence allowance of a sum equivalent to the annual basic salary of the incumbent to the next of kin. And in Benue State, the house of assembly mid-last year passed an executive bill proposed by the administration of former Governor Samuel Ortom to provide bogus life pension for ex-governors and deputies. The catch is, the bill was passed after the assembly temporarily called off suspension of their constitutional functions owing to huge salary arrears owed them by the Ortom administration, but which the administration managed to partly defray. Not that it was a worthwhile deal, though, because then incoming Governor Hyacinth Alia indicated disinterest in implementing the law.

In his Vanguard interview, Shehu said it was a disservice to states for ex-helmsmen in other political jobs to be drawing fat pensions and it would contribute to economic well-being of the states, even if marginally, to suspend such benefits. Besides, both the legality and morality of the arrangement are questionable. It can be argued that pension is a legitimate due of every worker and theres no law barring ex-governors or deputies from earning such due after leaving office. But RMAFC is the body constitutionally empowered to fix remunerations for political office holders, and it provides only for payment of 300 percent basic salary as severance allowances. While there is not much the commission can do about state pensions laws because they were statutorily enacted, thelaws are blatantly self-servicing and in many cases at dire odds with economic health of affected states.

The morality of the pension laws is far more contestable. In conventional wisdom, you are either pensioned or you are working, you cannot be both a pensioner and an active worker simultaneously “ which is what the ex-governors effectively are. Even if they make do with 300 percent of basic salary severance pay that RMAFC approves, a 2019 Court of Appeal judgment declared payment of severance allowances to elected or appointed public office holders morally wrong. The court, in a verdict on an appeal filed by the Kogi State Government, said the fact that elected public office holders and political appointees were paid huge sums as monthly salaries and other allowances while in office made it morally wrong for them to demand gratuity or severance allowance for holding such office for only few years, whereas career civil servants who served their country / states / local governments all their lives were subjected to contributory pension schemes by which they contribute part of their meagre monthly salaries that are always paid in arrears while in service, to be able to earn pension and gratuity upon retirement.

In 2020, Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu moved to abolish the states pension law, but the state assembly only agreed to cutting the allowances by 50 per cent and expunging the provision for houses in the law. Recently, former Ogun State Governor and now Senator, Gbenga Daniel, volunteered that his pension from the state be suspended. These are examples that other states and individuals concerned can borrow a leaf from. After all, ongoing reforms by the Bola Tinubu presidency have forced hard sacrifices on most Nigerians. Ex-governors who are part of the administration as ministers or senators should lead in making sacrifices.