Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) on Sunday in
Lagos told Governor Seriake Henry Dickson of Bayelsa State to reject
the life pension bill enacted by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly
and prevail on the lawmakers to immediately withdraw the self-serving
bill. The House of Assembly had last week passed a bill that would
grant life pensions to speakers, deputy speakers and other members
after their terms in the state legislature.
The bill prescribes that that dormer speakers will be paid N500,000
monthly, former deputy speakers N200,000 and 24 other members will
each receive N100,000 for the rest of their lives outside the State
legislature. It was noted that the lawmakers are seeking life pensions
as “applicable to former presidents, vice-presidents, governors.”
SERAP, however, argued: “Public officials have a legal commitment to
discharge a public duty and deputy governors across the country
truthfully and faithfully. Should you assent to the bill as proposed,
SERAP will institute legal proceedings to challenge the legality of
the legislation and ensure full compliance with constitutional
provisions and Nigeria’s international anti-corruption obligations.
“The bill amounts to an incorrect and improper performance of public
functions. It’s clearly an abuse of legislative functions by the
lawmakers. Rather than sponsoring bills that would improve access of
children in Bayelsa to quality education, the lawmakers are taking
advantage of their entrusted public positions to propose a bill to
collect large severance benefits.”
The organization further declared: “The lawmakers are clearly the
major beneficiaries under the proposed legislation. Therefore, by
passing the life pension bill, the lawmakers of Bayelsa State House of
Assembly have violated the constitutional and international
prohibitions on conflicts of interest.
“The people of Bayelsa would expect you, as their governor, to use
your entrusted public office to act in the public interest, including,
rejecting the life pension bill and prevailing upon the House of
Assembly to immediately drop the bill.
“Conflicts of interest, as well as perceptions of such conflicts,
would undermine public confidence in the integrity and honesty of not
only the Bayelsa State House of Assembly but also your government if
urgent action is not taken to prevail upon the House to drop the
outrageous bill.
“SERAP notes that Bayelsa State has in recent years received trillions
of Naira from the federation account. Yet, according to the State
Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), over 265,000 Nigerian
children lack access to basic education in the State. The public funds
that would be spent to pay life pensions to the lawmakers could be
well used to address the problem of (the) growing rate of
out-of-school children in the state.
“It is forbidden for any public official, including lawmakers, to
engage in self-dealing, and place him/herself in a position of
conflicting interests and to hold incompatible functions or illicitly
engage in providing to him/herself emoluments deemed unacceptable,
unconstitutional and illegal.
“In the Seventh Schedule to the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as
amended), you commit to strive to ‘preserve the Fundamental Objectives
and Directive Principles of State Policy contained in the
Constitution, [and not to] allow my personal interest to influence my
official conduct or my official decisions’. You also commit to:
protect and defend the constitution, and to ‘do right to all manner of
people according to law [and to] devote myself to the service and
well-being of the people of Nigeria’.
“Constitutional oath of office requires public officials including
lawmakers to abstain from all improper acts, including passing the
life pension bill, that are inconsistent with the entrusted positions
and the overall objectives of the Constitution. We believe that a
false oath lacks truth and justice. The oath statements require the
oath takers to commit to uphold and defend the Constitution.
“Under the bill, former lawmakers, including persons of Bayelsa
origin who served in the old Rivers State, would enjoy life pensions
for ‘their services’ in the state as applicable to former presidents,
vice-presidents, governors and deputy governors across the country.
“It is estimated that hundreds of lawmakers will benefit from the life
pension proposed legislation, which will invariably cost Bayelsa State
at least N20 million taxpayers’ money monthly. This amount will
increase in subsequent years.
“SERAP believes that the action by the lawmakers is entirely
inconsistent and incompatible with Bayelsa State House of Assembly.
“The convention, which is binding the object and purpose of the UN
Convention against Corruption, to which Nigeria is a state party and
which implicitly prohibits large severance benefits for public
officials such as members of
on all states of the federation, specifically in paragraph 1 of
article 8 requires the lawmakers to promote integrity, honesty and
responsibility in the management of public resources.”