Akpabio Signs Pension Bill Into Law

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio has signed into law the Amended Pension Bill to enable him and his deputy governor to start receiving the sum of N100 million as pension money from June 1.

*Akwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio

Akpabio while signing the bill at Governor’s Office, Uyo, explained that the money would cover ex-deputy governors spouses as well as that of the ex-governor.  

“The essence of the law is to streamline and avoid excesses of finances and to be prudent in the management of our resources. The Constitution has empowered us to make laws. So, we have today made the pension law for ex-governors and ex-deputy governors.

“This law was made in 2000. It was amended in 2006 and is now amended again in 2014. The essence of this amendment was because staff such as cooks, drivers, among others were hired by the ex-governors and ex-deputy governors with a non-financial benchmark” Akpabio said. “All staff of the ex-governors should not earn more than N5 million annually and all staff of the ex-deputy governors should not earn more than N2 million annually. No ex-governor can spend more than N100 million in a year for medical expenses and no ex- deputy governor can spend more than N50 million for medical expenses, because we are making sure that we cover all the loopholes of financial wastage. Widows of ex-governors will receive a minimum of N1 million monthly for medical expenses and N500,000 medical expenses for the widows of ex-deputy governors” he added.

According to the governor, the law which is aimed at bring sanity into state finances also encompass those who served in the old Cross River State.  

Meanwhile, the bill which the governor has finally accented to has generated a lot of criticism from well meaning Nigerians and the state indigenes most of whom took to various social media platform to condemn it.

Source: Legit.ng