Abia assembly passes bill stopping pensions to ex-governors, deputies

Abia assembly passes bill stopping pensions to ex-governors, deputies

Abia House of Assembly has passed a bill to abrogate the law allowing former governors of the state and their deputies to collect pensions.

A former governor of Abia, Orji Kalu, in 2001 signed the “Abia State Governors & Deputy Governors Pensions Law No 4 of 2001”.

Kalu, currently a senator representing Abia North, introduced the law while serving as governor. He was in office from 1999 to 2007.

The law stipulated that the former governors and deputies are entitled to 100 percent of the annual basic salaries of the incumbent governor and deputy; their cooks, stewards, drivers, and gardeners are to be paid by the state.

They are also entitled to three police officers, two operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and two vehicles worth N20 million each every four years.

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At the plenary on Tuesday, the state lawmakers passed a bill to repeal the pensions law for governors.

The bill, sponsored by Okoro Uchenna Kalu, the lawmaker representing the Arochukwu state constituency, is designed to “ensure that the outrageous cost of governance is reduced to channel Abia state resources towards the development of the state”.

The bill is expected to be transmitted to Governor Alex Otti for assent.

If it scales through, all former governors of the state and their deputies, including Kalu, Theodore Orji, and Okezie Ikpeazu, will stop getting pension entitlements.