TheCable

Hope Uzodinma, governor of Imo, has scrapped payment of pensions to former governors, deputy governors, speakers and deputy speakers of the state. 

On Friday, Uzodinma assented to a bill repealing the law that created pension allowances and gratuities for the former officials. 

The governor said the law runs contrary to the 1999 constitution which stipulates that a pensioner must have worked for at least 10 years and must be up to 45 years of age.

“Apart from the inconsistency of such a law to the provisions of the ground norm, which is the constitution of 1999 (as amended), this has led for a very long time a precedence that does not encourage diligence and prudence in service delivery,” he said. 

He also regretted a situation where some of the beneficiaries of such payments also get huge amounts of money as salaries and allowances in other positions they occupied such as serving as senators or members of the house of representatives.

Rochas Okorocha, a former governor of the state, is currently representing Imo west at the senate.

Last year, Bello Matawalle, governor of Zamfara, had also cancelled pension for ex-governors, deputy governors, speakers and deputy speakers. 

A poll in 2016 had shown massive opposition to life pension for ex-governors, legislators. 

Uzodinma thanked the state house of assembly for “rising to the occasion” and embracing the desire of the government to strengthen the internally generated revenue (IGR) base of the state.

Chiji Collins, speaker of the house, on his part said the legislature presented two bills for the governor’s assent: the bill on Imo State University of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and bill on the repeal of pensions and gratuity.

He said that the bill on pensions and gratuity has long been repealed in many states of the federation when it was discovered to run contrary to the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria.