Ortom’s life pension bill for ex-governors outrageous, ridiculous, economy-crippling – Lawyer – Newstrends
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Ortom’s life pension bill for ex-governors outrageous, ridiculous, economy-crippling – Lawyer

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Governor Samuel Ortom

Ortom’s life pension bill for ex-governors outrageous, ridiculous, economy-crippling – Lawyer

Nigerian lawyer from Benue State, Barr. Terhemen Oscar Aorabee-Gagajav has raised the alarm over a life pension bill proposed by Governor Samuel Ortom’s government in Benue State for former governors and deputy governors.

Aorabee-Gagajav, who described the proposed life pension bill as outrageous, ridiculous and economy-crippling, asked that the bill must not be passed into law.

He said if passed and implemented, it will not only cripple the economy of the state but will impoverish workers and other people of the state.

Further describing the bill as a pension scam, Aorabee-Gagajav said the bill titled ‘A Bill for a Law to make Provisions for the Maintenance of Former Governors of the State and their Deputies and for Other Matters Connected Thereto’, has been presented to the Benue State House of Assembly by the outgoing governor.

According to Aorabee-Gagajav, Section 1 of the bill established the title of the Bill and intended for it to have a retroactive effect, adding that it is expected to take effect from 1999 so that it will cover former governors and their deputies including Senator George Akume and the late Ogiri Ajene; Senator Gabriel Suswam and Steven Lawani; Dr. Samuel Ortom and Engr. Benson Abounu.

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He noted that further details of the bill showed that “Section 2(a)(i) makes provision for the payment to the former governors of a monthly ‘stipend’ equivalent to the ‘the salary’ of a sitting/incumbent governor.

“Section 2(a)(ii) makes provision for the payment to all former deputy governors of a monthly ‘stipend’, equivalent to the ‘the salary’ of a sitting/incumbent deputy governor.

“Section 2(b) provides for the building of a permanent residential accommodation in any town ‘of their choice’ by the State in Nigeria.

“Sections 2(c) and (h) provide for the provisions of 4 new cars every 4 years for the former governors and 2 new cars every 4 years for the former deputy governors whose cars shall be serviced and maintained at the expense of the State.

“Section 2(d) and (e) provide for 6 personal staff for the former governors and 3 for the former deputy governors to be paid for by the State.

“Section 2(f) provides for 24 hours security surveillance and guard for all former governors and their deputies at their direction.

“Section 2(g) provides for free medical treatment for them, their spouses and at least 4 children under the age of 18.

“Section 3 provides that all the above expenses can be monetized or cashed out!

“Section 4 entitled former governors to 2 vacations abroad annually and the former deputy governor to 1 vacation abroad.”

He pointed out that all the entitlements are for life and that the expenses are to be charged on the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state (meaning that they are on First Line Charge) and are to take priority against other expenses like salaries, pensions and gratuity of the citizen. He added that all the entitlements except the vacation can be converted into cash and paid out.

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A critical review of the bill, according to Aorabee-Gagajav, shows that “Section 1 makes this Bill, when passed into Law, to have retroactive effect. This means that it will be backdated to cover all governors and their deputies democratically elected since 1999.

“It is important to note that if allowed to be passed, the state will be owing Governors Akume and Suswan with their Deputies all the entitlements provided for in the BILL/LAW.

“Again, the monthly stipends to be paid to the beneficiaries, apart from being for life and backdated, calculated and monetized, are capable of totally crippling the State Treasury and Economy.

“Remember that the law does not say that the stipend should be equivalent to the “BASIC SALARY” of a sitting governor but the “SALARY,” and my research shows that the monthly basic salary of a sitting governor is N2,223,794 while the monthly salary of a sitting governor, comprising allowances, etc., is N11,540,896.

“This means that Sen. George Akume alone will be entitled to N138,490,752 per annum from the time he left office till his death. Same for Senator Suswam and Gov. Ortom and the governors after them.

“Multiply N138,490,752 x 3 former governors in a year alone, you are going to be spending N657,276,456 on Ortom, Akume and Suswam alone in 2024 as monthly stipends. (We have not considered the backlog for Akume and Suswam.

“The three deputies will take home N440,631,348 per annum as monthly stipends. Add N657,276,456 to N440,631,348 for the governors and their deputies and you have N1, 097,907, 804. [These are the stipends for the 3 sets of governors and their deputies for one year alone]

“The governors and their deputies are entitled to 6 vehicles every four years. Let us assume that each vehicle costs N70, 000,000.00 (I am assuming this based on my findings on Jiji that a Toyota Landcruiser Prado Jeep, 2022 model costs about that much). If you multiply that sum for 6 cars, you will have N420,000,000.00 spent on them every 4 years. We will resist the urge to go on calculating the cost of service of these beasts for every year. Mind you that the Law does not place a ceiling on the cost of the cars.

“Note also, the Bill does not stipulate that the old four-year-old cars should be returned to the State Pool in exchange for the new cars.

“Next is the provision for the building of residential accommodations of no prescribed limit in value in any Town of their choice in Nigeria. I assume that nobody would want to have a house built for that purpose in Makurdi, Gbajimba, Anyiin or Wannune. They would rather prefer to have a house in Banana Island or Asokoro in Abuja where the cost of buying plain land alone will cost hundreds of millions and building could cost a billion or more.

“What about the medical expenses for them, their spouses and AT LEAST 4 children irrespective of whether the children are biological or not. Once a child reaches the age of 18, he or she could easily be replaced by another “child”. Again the medical expenses are not limited in value or within Nigeria.

Ortom’s life pension bill for ex-governors outrageous, ridiculous, economy-crippling – Lawyer

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Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers

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Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers

 

A former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to honour another invitation extended to him over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Bello went to the anti-graft office with his lawyers in the morning.

The ex-Kogi governor reportedly drove himself to the EFCC’s office in a black Toyota Hilux van with some lawyers.

He was said to have been taken by some operatives of the agency and are currently being grilled.

This is  coming after the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed a suit brought by some state governments challenging the constitutionality of the agency.

The EFCC at the last hearing on November 14, sought the adjournment till November 27 in the fresh case it instituted against Bello.

It stated that the 30-day window was still running for the summons earlier issued.

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Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct 

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Just in: Ebonyi governor suspends two commissioners, Perm Sec for misconduct 

 

Ebonyi State Governor Francis Nwifuru has announced the immediate suspension of two commissioners with a permanent secretary among others for gross misconduct.

Those suspended are the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Francis Ori, and the Commissioner for Health, Moses Ekuma, with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Health.

The suspension followed an incident on Saturday night, when the governor reportedly visited the Ministry of Health’s premises and was said to have found six officials diverting government materials.

Others suspended for three months are the Executive Secretaries of the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency and the Ebonyi State Health Insurance Agency

The suspension order was announced by the state Commissioner for Information, Jude Okpor, who cited alleged misconduct and dereliction of duties as the reasons for the disciplinary actions.

Okpor made the disclosure on Tuesday during a press briefing on the outcomes of the State Executive Council meeting held on Monday at the New Government House in Abakaliki, the state capital.

“Following cases of gross misconduct and dereliction of duties by some government officials and matters related thereto, the Chairman of Council directed the indefinite suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development and three months suspension of the Honourable Commissioner for Health, respectively

“In view of the development, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Primary Health was directed to take charge of the ministry in the absence of the suspended commissioner.

Governor Nwifuru directed the suspended government officials to hand over all government properties in their possession including vehicles to the Secretary to the State Government.

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Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG

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Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun

Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG

The Federal Government has defended its decision to borrow to address budget deficits, despite surpassing revenue targets in 2024.

Finance Minister Wale Edun and Budget Minister Atiku Bagudu clarified this position during a session with the National Assembly’s Joint Committee on Finance, Budget, and National Planning. The meeting focused on the 2025–2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).

Last week, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s $2.2 billion loan request to fund the N9.7 trillion deficit in the 2024 budget partially.

During the session, key agency heads, including Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) CEO Mele Kyari, Customs Comptroller-General Bashir Adeniyi, and Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Chairman Zacch Adedeji, presented their revenue reports.

The agencies reported exceeding their 2024 targets.

  • Customs Service: Generated ₦5.352 trillion by September 30, surpassing its ₦5.09 trillion target for the year. For 2025, the agency projects ₦6.3 trillion, with a 10% increase planned for 2026.
  • NNPCL: Achieved ₦13.1 trillion in revenue, exceeding the ₦12.3 trillion projection for 2024. Kyari announced a ₦23.7 trillion revenue target for 2025.

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  • FIRS: Surpassed multiple tax collection goals, including ₦5.7 trillion from company income tax against a ₦4 trillion target. Education tax collections also exceeded expectations, reaching ₦1.5 trillion compared to a ₦70 billion target.

Overall, ₦18.5 trillion of the ₦19.4 trillion 2024 revenue target had been achieved by September, indicating the goal will be exceeded by year-end.

Despite these surpluses, the government insists borrowing remains essential to cover budget gaps and support vulnerable populations.

Bagudu explained, “Even with agencies exceeding revenue targets, borrowing is necessary to address deficits and boost productivity, particularly for the poorest. This aligns with Agenda 2050, which aims for a GDP per capita of $33,000.”

Edun also reiterated that loans were critical for adequately funding the budget.

The committee, led by Senator Sani Musa, questioned the rationale behind the borrowing and demanded further transparency. The Immigration Service was specifically asked to provide documents regarding an “unacceptable PPP arrangement” before the end of the week.

The session underscored the government’s balancing act between increased revenues and fiscal challenges requiring external borrowing.

Why we’re borrowing despite surplus revenues – FG

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