Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has
sent an open letter to Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State urging him to
use his “good offices as trustee of the state’s resources, and consistent with
your constitutional oath of office, to reject the proposed life pension bill by
the leader of the House of Assembly Peter Akpe, and to prevail upon the House
to immediately withdraw the self-serving bill.”
The House had last week passed a bill that would grant life
pensions to speakers, deputy speakers, and other members. Under the bill,
speakers will go home with N500,000 monthly, while deputy speakers will receive
N200,000. 24 other members will each get N100,000. The House is seeking life
pensions for members similar to those “applicable to former presidents,
vice-presidents, governors and deputy governors across the country.”
But reacting, SERAP said: “Public officials have a legal
commitment to discharge a public duty 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.”
In the letter dated 26 April 2019 and signed by SERAP deputy
director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “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.”
According to the organization: “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 letter read in part: “The people of Bayelsa would expect
you, as their governor, to use your entrusted public office to act in the
public interest, including by 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 is 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 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
Bayelsa State House of Assembly.”
“The convention, which is binding 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.”
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