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| Obasanjo |
By: ADETUTU FOLASADE-KOYI, Abuja
Spirited attempts to ensure that former Senate presidents,
speakers of the House of the Representatives also enjoy their perks of office,
allowances and pension already enjoyed by former presidents and heads of state
were summarily thrown out in the Senate yesterday.
Lawmakers also rejected a bill seeking to “provide former
presidents such amounts as may be recommended from time to time by the Revenue
Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and approved by the
National Assembly, as up-keep allowance in addition to the pension entitlement
under the 1999 Constitution.”
Former vice presidents, ex-CJNs were also included in the
botched package.
On the death of the former leaders, their families and
spouses shall continue to collect the allowances annually until the death of
the last spouse of the office holder.
Section 2 (1) specifically provided that “members of the
families of the deceased former presidents and vice presidents shall be
entitled to annual payments as shall be recommended by the RMAFC and approved
by the National Assembly and in a manner as shall also be prescribed by the
Senate.”
But a divided Senate yesterday rejected the bill on the
premise that former presidents and heads of states were already being taken
care of by the executive, while some also argued that presiding officers of
legislative houses were not entitled to pension outside office.
Thrice, the bill was passed in both chambers of the National
Assembly and thrice, the bill was returned to the federal legislature as
unsigned.
On the fourth attempt yesterday, however, Senators refused
to see any merit in the bill and kicked it out outright.
Senators refused to allow the bill scale the crucial second
reading when it was debated in the chamber yesterday on the premise that the
new law contravened section 84 of the 1999 Constitution.
Federal lawmakers strongly opposed a new law which would
allow former presidents Shehu Shagari, Olusegun Obasanjo, and former presiding
officers of the National Assembly such as former Senate presidents Anyim Pius
Anyim, Adolph Wabara, Ken Nnamani, Hon. Ghari Na,aba, Aminu Masari and Dimeji
Bankole draw extra-allowances and pension from government coffers.
Senators went a step further by handing down strict warnings
that at no time should former military heads of state be ever considered for
allowances and pension because they truncated the democratic process in
Nigeria.
In his lead debate on a bill for an Act for the remuneration
for former presidents, heads of legislative houses and Chief Justices of the
Federation and other ancillary matters, Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba
reminded his colleagues why former leaders should be taken care of and why
former presiding officers of the National Assembly should be included in the
remuneration package which was already being enjoyed by the executive and the
judiciary.
He said: “This bill was passed by the Fourth, Fifth and
Sixth National Assembly. Unfortunately, the president didn’t assent to the bill
for inexplicable reasons before it lapsed.
“I decided to re-introduce this bill due to the exigencies
of our time and the uncomfortable and sometimes, embarrassing economic
situation of last leaders of this country.
“The thrust of this bill is essentially to repeal the
provisions of CAP R6 LFN 2011 which provides for remuneration packages for
former presidents, heads of state, vice presidents but it also applies to those
who have attained offices as presiding officers of both houses of the National
Assembly and those who have attained the position of the CJN which is a sharp
difference of CAP R6 LFN 2011 which provided for the executive arm.
“We read in the Sun Newspaper where a former presiding officer,
former Senate President Joseph Wayas (Second Republic) said he’s living on
charity. I think that’s a most uncharitable way for our leaders to live like
that.
Senator Ayogu Eze argued that forthright leaders should be
taken care of “if people have served and given their best to the country. “They
shouldn’t live in penury and lamentation as the Senate Leader has said,” but
the Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory, Smart Adeyemi countered him.
Rather than approve remuneration for past military leaders,
Adeyemi posited that they should be prosecuted for subverting the democratic
process in Nigeria.
“I disagree with my colleague, Senator Aisha Al-Hassan that
former military rulers should benefit from this package. We should instead look
at punitive measures for coup plotters and I don’t even know whether some of
them are here. They should tender a letter of apology to Nigerians for
organizing coups against the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“In fact, they should be banned. All those who have derailed
democracy shouldn’t tell us that they are now champions of democracy. If you’ve
derailed the system before, how come you are now saying that the system is
good? We should rather look at punitive measures.”
Minority Whip Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon wondered why past
presidents including Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and incumbent
President Goodluck Jonathan refused to assent to the bill.
He asked whether it was because it included former presiding
officers of the legislature. “Why have successive governments refused to assent
to this bill? If you look at the Judiciary and the Executive, from time
immemorial, it has been benefiting from this gesture. The only arm of
government left out is the legislature.
“Should the president refuse to assent to it, we should
overturn his veto.”
Chairman of the Water Resources Committee, Heineken October
Lokpobiri supported the bill on the premise that it would help strengthen
democracy as well as “remove corruption from the system.”
Senator George Sekibo, on his part, opposed the bill because
approving a new remuneration package for the former leaders would be a strain
on the economy because “no former president or head of state will say he’s not
benefitting from the Federal Government.”
Besides, Sekibo wondered why presiding officers in the
National Assembly should be included in the remuneration package which, if
passed would “mean that there would be more coups in this Senate.”
Former Anambra State governor, Chris Ngige, warned the
chamber not to make laws that would contradict the 1999 Constitution (As
amended). “We cannot re-invent the wheel. If we want to include former
presiding officers in the remuneration package, we have to go through an
amendment of the Constitution and Nigerians should say whether they want it or
not.
“I rest my case and I would not be part of any illegality.
If we have anything to do, we should take it to the Constitution Review
Committee.”
Attempts by Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu to save
the bill failed. Twice he put the question that the bill be read a second time
and twice, Senators rejected the move which sounded the death knell for the
bill in the Senate.
It can only be re-introduced after a hiatus of six months.
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