The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has thrown its weight behind the Nigerian Senate bid to investigate the abandoned N400 billion naira National Primary Health Centre Project initiated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo across the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.
In a release issued by CACOL and signed by Tola Oresanwo, the anti-corruption organization’s Director of Administration and Programmes, on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he stated, “We welcome the decision by the Senate of the Nigerian legislature to investigate the abandoned National Primary Health Centre project initiated by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo”.
The resolution was reached on Wednesday during plenary by the Senate after it considered a motion to that effect. The motion, “Need to investigate the abandoned Four Hundred Billion Naira National Primary Health Center Project”, was sponsored by Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe (Kwara Central).
Senator Oloriegbe, in his presentation, noted that the National Primary Health Center project was initiated by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2006. According to the lawmaker, the project was to build in each of the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria, a sixty (60) bed Primary Health Center to be complemented with a three-bedroom flat, doctor’s quarters, an ambulance, all basic hospital equipment and drugs.
The CACOL Boss stated that “It is a known fact that primary health care, as important as it is, is lacking in most parts of the country, especially the rural areas. According to UNICEF, over the past five years, infant and under-five mortality rates have remained steady in Nigeria, at 74 and 117 deaths per 1,000 live births, respectively. At these mortality levels, one Nigerian child of every 13 born dies before reaching age 1, and one in every eight does not survive to their fifth birthday. This is an alarming statistics that could have been remedied if these Primary Health Care Centres were functioning in all the 774 local government areas in the country”.
“This action by the Senate is no doubt in line with our previous calls for a probe of all abandoned projects that litter the nooks and crannies of the country. The irony of this situation is that the contract for the project was awarded during the administration of Former President Olusegun Obasanjo whose administration coincidentally created most of the anti-corruption agencies in the country.
The CACOL Boss further enthused, “we at CACOL commend the Senate for this bold step. It is indeed a step in the right direction and we want them to make the report of their findings public so that every Nigerian will know what went wrong with the money allocated for this project and anyone found wanton in the award, implementation and execution of the project should be made to face the full wrath of the law to serve as deterrent to others. We also use this medium to call for stronger legislation, strategies and mechanisms that will ensure efficient project monitoring and implementation across the country”.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has commended the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for extending a hand of support for two out-of-school girls in the state. The organization however implore him to put all machinery in motion to give effect to the Child Right Act that the state has domesticated more than a decade ago, noting that if it had been earlier implemented there wouldn’t be any need for him to stop his convoy to appraise out-of-school children that he found by the road side.
In a release issued by CACOL’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, on behalf of the Chairman of the Centre, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he noted, “We observed the interest shown by the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the plight of two out-of-school girls in the state”
“It would be recalled that the media reported that on his way to an official function recently, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu momentarily halted his convoy to attend to a disturbing situation. It was a sight of two underage girls on an errand for a bean cake vendor during school hours. The girls were expected to be in school. But, both Amarachi Chinedu, 9, and Suwebat Husseini, 12, were forced to skip school by their parents in order to serve some domestic assistance”.
The girls were going to deliver buckets of peeled beans and pepper to a grinder when the Governor sighted them at Anthony Village area. It was a glance that presented a discomforting image for Sanwo-Olu, who revved his convoy to a stop to find out the reason the girls were not in school.
Amarachi’s story left the Governor to shudder throughout the encounter. Her mother is a teacher, but the nine-year-old was not allowed to go to school because her parents could not afford the current session’s tuition fees. Amarachi would have to miss a school year because of this reason.
Suwebat’s mother is the bean cake seller for whom the girls were running an errand. Her parents, who are Jigawa State indigenes, relocated to Lagos months back. Suwebat’s four male siblings were all in school at the time she was stopped on the road by the Governor. But her parents preferred she stayed back home to help with some domestic chores.
The decisions taken by these girls’ parents, Sanwo-Olu said, “could rob the little ones of their innocence, their future and put them at a disadvantage among their peers”. The Governor stressed that his encounter with the girls left his heart bleeding.
Salvaging the situation, Sanwo-Olu, at the scene, told the girls he would personally take up the responsibility for their education and upbringing, promising to enrol them in school to continue with their education.
The anti-corruption Czar said “We will like to commend Governor Sanwo-Olu for taking this bold step aimed at returning these out-of-school girls to school. We believe there are many Amarachis and Suwebats out there who are not that lucky to encounter the Governor. To this set of children something drastic ought to be done to save them from the scourge of illiteracy.”
We also believe that if the Child Rights Acts which Lagos state has domesticated since more than a decade ago is fully implemented there wouldn’t have been any out-of-school child in the state because it would have been an offence for parents to engage their children in economic activities or for any child to roam the streets during school hours.
The CACOL Boss added, “.Section 15 sub section 1 of the Act stated that Every child has the right to free, compulsory and universal basic education and it shall be the duty of the Government in Nigeria to provide such education. Subsection (2) stated that every parent or guardian shall ensure that his child or ward attends and completes his primary and junior secondary education. Subsection (6) of the Act stipulated appropriate punishments for a parent, guardian or person who has care and custody of a child and fails in the duty imposed on him under subsection (2) of this section.
“We hope the state government would look into the implementation of this Act and all the needed financial, human and material resources would be put in place in order for the dictates of the Act to be fully implemented and thereby sow a good seed in the educational sector of the state by reducing the population of out-of-school children to the barest minimum”.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has commended the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu for extending a hand of support for two out-of-school girls in the state. The organization however implore him to put all machinery in motion to give effect to the Child Right Act that the state has domesticated more than a decade ago, noting that if it had been earlier implemented there wouldn’t be any need for him to stop his convoy to appraise out-of-school children that he found by the road side.
In a release issued by CACOL’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, on behalf of the Chairman of the Centre, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he noted, “We observed the interest shown by the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu in the plight of two out-of-school girls in the state”
“It would be recalled that the media reported that on his way to an official function recently, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu momentarily halted his convoy to attend to a disturbing situation. It was a sight of two underage girls on an errand for a bean cake vendor during school hours. The girls were expected to be in school. But, both Amarachi Chinedu, 9, and Suwebat Husseini, 12, were forced to skip school by their parents in order to serve some domestic assistance”.
The girls were going to deliver buckets of peeled beans and pepper to a grinder when the Governor sighted them at Anthony Village area. It was a glance that presented a discomforting image for Sanwo-Olu, who revved his convoy to a stop to find out the reason the girls were not in school.
Amarachi’s story left the Governor to shudder throughout the encounter. Her mother is a teacher, but the nine-year-old was not allowed to go to school because her parents could not afford the current session’s tuition fees. Amarachi would have to miss a school year because of this reason.
Suwebat’s mother is the bean cake seller for whom the girls were running an errand. Her parents, who are Jigawa State indigenes, relocated to Lagos months back. Suwebat’s four male siblings were all in school at the time she was stopped on the road by the Governor. But her parents preferred she stayed back home to help with some domestic chores.
The decisions taken by these girls’ parents, Sanwo-Olu said, “could rob the little ones of their innocence, their future and put them at a disadvantage among their peers”. The Governor stressed that his encounter with the girls left his heart bleeding.
Salvaging the situation, Sanwo-Olu, at the scene, told the girls he would personally take up the responsibility for their education and upbringing, promising to enrol them in school to continue with their education.
The anti-corruption Czar said “We will like to commend Governor Sanwo-Olu for taking this bold step aimed at returning these out-of-school girls to school. We believe there are many Amarachis and Suwebats out there who are not that lucky to encounter the Governor. To this set of children something drastic ought to be done to save them from the scourge of illiteracy.”
We also believe that if the Child Rights Acts which Lagos state has domesticated since more than a decade ago is fully implemented there wouldn’t have been any out-of-school child in the state because it would have been an offence for parents to engage their children in economic activities or for any child to roam the streets during school hours.
The CACOL Boss added, “.Section 15 sub section 1 of the Act stated that Every child has the right to free, compulsory and universal basic education and it shall be the duty of the Government in Nigeria to provide such education. Subsection (2) stated that every parent or guardian shall ensure that his child or ward attends and completes his primary and junior secondary education. Subsection (6) of the Act stipulated appropriate punishments for a parent, guardian or person who has care and custody of a child and fails in the duty imposed on him under subsection (2) of this section.
“We hope the state government would look into the implementation of this Act and all the needed financial, human and material resources would be put in place in order for the dictates of the Act to be fully implemented and thereby sow a good seed in the educational sector of the state by reducing the population of out-of-school children to the barest minimum”.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has thrown its weight behind the move by the House of Representative to investigate the alleged failure of the Nigeria Police Force to account for firearms totalling 178,459 as of January 2020.
In a release, issued by the Director of Administration and Programmes of the anti-graft organization, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of the Chairman, Comrade Debo Adeniran, noted, “It would be recalled that The House of Representatives has mandated its Ad hoc Committee on Arms to investigate alleged 178,459 arms reported to be missing by the Auditor-General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu”.
According to the 2019 audit report, the arms which include AK-47 rifles and other assorted rifles and pistols from different Police formations nationwide could not be accounted for by the Nigeria Police. The House resolved to probe the missing arms following a motion moved by the Deputy Minority Leader, Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu), on Thursday, during plenary. Leading the debate, Mr Okechukwu lamented the poor record-keeping of the police on arms and ammunition. He said the missing arms could be connected with the spike in insecurity across the country.
Speaking in support of the motion, the Deputy Speaker, Idris Wase (APC, Plateau), said the investigation will reveal a lot. He, however, argued that there is no need to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the matter, rather an existing committee investigating arms should be charged with the probe. Consequently, the committee investigating arms procurement chaired by Abubakar Fulata (APC, Jigawa), was charged with the investigation.
The Chairman of CACOL opined that “It is very unfortunate that the Nigeria Police Force has become a shadow of its former self as a result of maladministration of various funds budgeted for firearms, welfare, logistics and capacity building of the rank and file of the force over the years but which vanished into thin air This is a classic example of how much damage corruption and mismanagement of scarce resources have caused us as a nation and has made law enforcement a herculean task for the Force.”.
The issue of alleged missing firearms is just a tip of the iceberg, considering the monumental misappropriation going on in the circle of those saddled with the responsibility of carrying out various procurements for the Force. It is a known fact that the Police Force has been permanently incapacitated, disabled and rendered helpless majorly by the non-availability of firearms and the use of superior firearms by various enemies of the State which has deprived the Police of carrying out its primary duty of maintaining law and order within the country and also made the use of the Armed Forces inevitable even for internal security.
Concluding, Mr. Adeniran commended the House of Representative’s effort geared towards unraveling the whereabouts of the missing firearms and urged the Committee Members to carry out their duties without fear or favour and those found wanton should be made to face the full wrath of the law.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has thrown its weight behind the Nigerian Senate in its bid to unravel the mystery surrounding the alleged N14.7bn proceeds of privatization of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) allegedly hidden in commercial banks by the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).
In a release issued by CACOL and signed by Tola Oresanwo, the anti-corruption organization’s Director, Administration and Programmes on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he stated, “We received the news that the Senate Committee on Public Accounts has begun investigation of N14.7bn proceeds of privatization of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria allegedly hidden in commercial banks by the Bureau of Public Enterprise”.
It will be recalled that the committee acting on an audit query in the ‘Auditor-General for the Federation’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance/Internal Control Weaknesses Issues in Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government of Nigeria for the Year Ended 31st December, 2019.’
The Acting Auditor-General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu, had presented the report to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Ojo Amos, on September 15, 2021, while the Senate and House Committees on Public Accounts began investigation of the queries.
The defunct government-owned National Electric Power Authority was privatized and renamed PHCN, which was later unbundled to become the present generation and distribution companies.
The query stated that the funds were still in the banks as of December 31, 2016, whereas the privatization of the PHCN had been concluded since 2013.
The query read in part, “Audit verification and reconciliation revealed that the sum of N14,720,396,432.43, being proceeds from the privatization exercise of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria was reported in the bureau’s trial balance to be in commercial bank accounts as at 31st December 2016. Whereas, the privatization of the PHCN was concluded in 2013, the proceeds are yet to be remitted to the Central Bank of Nigeria Privatization Proceeds Accounts”.
The anti-corruption Czar opined that “It is very funny that the money generated as far back as 2013 when the Privatization of PHCN was concluded is still hidden in some accounts in commercial banks despite government directive that all money generated by Ministries and MDAs should be deposited in the Treasury Single Account. This is an affront to the laid down rules as this could lead to revenue leakages and open the door for grand corruption with the said amount of money”.
The CACOL Boss further enthused, “We want to commend the Senate Public Accounts Committee for questioning the award of these contracts. The 1999 constitution of Nigeria generally vests the legislature with the power to make laws, although this responsibility is not limited to making laws as a lot of additional responsibility including that of oversight has also been placed upon the legislature. Oversight functions serve a variety of purposes among which are to keep the executive establishment responsible and accountable, to promote rationality and efficiency in the formulation and administration of public policy, among others. We want to believe that if the current trend by the senate committee is intensified and sustained with the cooperation of the various anti-corruption agencies in the country, stemming the tide of corruption in the various agencies and parastatals of government will not be a herculean task”.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has hailed The Federal High Court in Abuja ruling that sentenced a former chairman of now-defunct Pension Reforms Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, to 61 years’ imprisonment which will run concurrently for eight years.
In a press release issued by the anti-graft coalition’s Director for Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he noted, “The court, in a judgment that was delivered by Justice Okon Abang, found Maina guilty on all the 12-count charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), preferred against him and his company, Common Input Property and Investment Limited. Justice Abang held that the anti-graft agency successfully established the essential ingredients of the offences contained in the charge, beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court ordered Maina and his firm to restitute about N2.1billion that was traced to their bank accounts, to the Federal Government, after which it ordered that the company should be wound up. Besides, it ordered the forfeiture of Maina’s two choice properties at Life camp and Jabi districts of Abuja, to the government, as well as the auction of a bulletproof car and a BMW 5 series car that was found on the premises of the convict.
Justice Abang stressed that though the law made provision for a maximum sentence of 14 years, he said he was moved by Maina’s plea for mercy.
“We at CACOL, received the news of the Federal High Court in Abuja verdict on Maina with great delight. It is very interesting to note how he had tried to evade trial by jumping bail at different times and how he had suffered, impoverished and denied many pensioners the opportunity to eat the fruits of their labour while they were alive. Many of the pensioners that he ought to have paid have died due to his own greed and sadism”.
The anti-corruption Crusader said “Though, his plea for mercy landed on the soft spot of the Judge, who sentenced him to 8 years instead of the maximum 14 years provided by the law, inasmuch as we want to commend Justice Okon Abang for taking this bold step, we believe that Maina doesn’t deserve mercy because he is a merciless person and he had done so much to evade trial which is a pointer to the fact that he is a chronic criminal that should not be given a chance to relate with decent people in the society. We believed that he deserved the maximum sentence of 14 years but now that the judgment had been passed, we hope that EFCC will appeal the judgment and seek for maximum sentence for a weakest soul like Maina. It has also come to public knowledge that Maina has other assets in different parts of the world, he should be able to either account for those assets or be forfeited to the Federal Government pending his ability to defend them”.
The CACOL’S Chairman added “In recent times, we have seen public office holders after siphoning the commonwealth of the citizens of this country running into billions to advance their individual and group’s business interests without recourse to laid-down procedures and thereafter be running from pillar to post in order to evade arrest and the attendant judicial prosecution. This is why we call on all the Anti-graft agencies to continue to investigate and prosecute other public office holders who are still enjoying their freedom and spending their loots. Moreover, any asset the person has accumulated should be deemed to be proceeds of corruption and should be confiscated and the person should begin again. We have always opined that culprits of official corruption need to be deprived of their evil accumulations, wherever and whenever they are found out, and made to face the full wrath of the law”.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has hailed the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for recovering 301 houses from two public officers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
In a press release issued by the anti-graft coalition’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he noted, “it would be recalled that the Chairman of ICPC Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, at the inauguration of the House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on Investigation of the Operations of Real Estate Developers, said the agency recovered 301 houses from two public officers in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja”.
The ICPC chairman said while 241 buildings were recovered from one of the suspects at different locations within the FCT, the remaining 60 were recovered on a large expanse of land at another location.
The chair of the Anti-Corruption Coalition said “we commend, laud and enthuse on the Chairman of ICPC Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, for recovering these properties from the public officers concerned. It is pathetic that it is now a norm for unscrupulous civil servants to amass huge wealth which they cannot account for and use the fund to acquire choice properties in different parts of the country and even abroad”.
“This revelation by the chairman of ICPC is an indication that corruption has indeed found its safe abode in the nest of our public officials and personal aggrandizement has been placed above service to the fatherland. It further shows that some public officials who were entrusted with funds meant to carry out specific assignments cannot be trusted as they have continually been dipping their hands in the cookie jar”.
The CACOL’s Chief added “In as much as we commend ICPC for this remarkable feat, we want to use this medium to demand that the names of the accused officials be made public and that necessary charges be brought against them in the court of law. This will serve as a deterrent to others. It is also important to devise preventive strategies that will make it difficult for civil servants to steal public funds. The government should not fold its arms and allow unscrupulous public officials to run the various parastatals of government in their care aground while illegally enriching their private purses”.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has
condemned the recent assassination of Mr. Olajide Sowore. Olajide is a
younger brother of Omoyele Sowore, Chair of the African Action
Congress (AAC) and former presidential aspirant.
In a release issued by CACOL’s Director of Administration and
Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo
Adeniran, he noted, “We received the news of the senseless
assassination of Olajide Sowore with great shock and angst. Olajide
was shot on his way from Igbinedion University in Edo State, where he
was studying Pharmacy”.
“It is regrettable that incessant and flagrant killings, kidnapping
and abductions of hapless Nigerians have been the other of the day and
one of the greatest threat to the right to life in Nigeria. The
stunning inability of the authorities to end them and bring suspected
perpetrators to justice have been and continues to serve as an impetus
for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes to continue their illicit
enterprise”.
“We at CACOL commiserate with the entire family of Olajide Sowore. We
stand in empathy with them and pray they find the necessary fortitude
to bear this irreparable loss. We condemn in the strongest term the
senseless killings that dotted the various parts of the country
thereby reducing human life that is supposed to be sacred to a very
cheap commodity. Like every right thinking Nigerians, we are still
searching for answers and trying to understand why and how this
happened and what caused it to reach this point”.
The CACOL Head adds “We call on our security agencies to carry out an
independent investigation and prosecution of all who might have a hand
in this dastardly act. We also use this medium to once again voice out
our disappointment on the perennial state of insecurity in the
country. This year, Nigeria as a country has lost more lives to
kidnapping and banditry than to road accidents. The government at all
levels must rise to the occasion by protecting the lives and
properties of every citizen which is the primary responsibility of any
creditworthy government”.
Mr. Adeniran concluded by saying “We have said it before and we will
say it again that if the government is finding it difficult to win
this self-fabricated war, then the help of external forces should be
sought. We cannot continue to read and hear about the gruesome murder
of innocent souls in different parts of the country, we cannot
continue to live in perpetual fear while at home or traveling on our
roads and we cannot as a country continue to slide back or retrogress
into the Hobbesian State of Nature where human life was “solitary,
poor, nasty, brutish and short.” It’s Olajide Sowore today, we don’t
know who it will be tomorrow. This nuttiness must stop and the right
time to stop it, is now”.
Tola Oresanwo
Director, Administration and Programmes, CACOL.
08141121208
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has hailed the ruling of The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos which ordered the interim forfeiture to the Federal Government the sum of N241 milion allegedly diverted from the office of the Senior Special Adviser (SSA) to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
In a press release issued by the anti-graft coalition’s Director of Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, he noted, “It would be recalled that the Justice Nicholas Oweibo, who made the order, also forfeited a property linked to the diversion – Real Tower Centre Shopping Complex at Plot 1121, Ekukinam Street, Utako District, Cadastral Zone, Abuja – to the Federal Government.
The judge’s order was sequel to an ex-parte application filed and argued by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) counsel, Mr Rotimi Oyedepo. Oyedepo told the judge that the N241m was warehoused in First City Monument Bank and Zenith bank in the sums of N65m, N61m, N50m and N65m.
The EFCC said its intelligence showed that the Abuja property was purchased with funds furtively diverted from SDG, office of the SSA to the President where Mr. Abdulsalam Bawa is a Principal Accountant.
The EFCC then fingered Bawa as the key suspect, adding that the diversion was perpetrated in conspiracy with some SDG members of staff. It also linked some firms, Kouchdim Unity Nigeria Limited and Lankass Global Ventures, to the diversion.
Oyedepo’s application was backed by a four-page affidavit of urgency deposed to by an EFCC operative, Ebunoluwa Amusan. Amusan averred that he was assigned to investigate the damning intelligence report received by the EFCC by some concerned citizens in respect of abuse of office, diversion of funds and monumental fraud perpetrated by some officers of the Sustainable Development Goals, Office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President.
The deponent further averred that the Principal Accountant, in collaboration with other staff of the SDG, laundered and retained various sums of money through companies and individuals who made payments for the property sought to be temporarily attached.
The CACOL Chair opined that “It is lamentable that some officers of the Sustainable Development Goals, Office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President saddled with the overall implementation of the SDGs, including the timely establishment of institutional frameworks to ensure effective implementation of the Global Goals, an assignment so crucial that those in saner climes are implementing with all diligence, would allow themselves to be moved by their primitive, selfish, wicked and inordinate desire to divert and accumulate public funds”.
The anti-corruption Crusader further added “It is disheartening to note that official corruption in public spheres is fast becoming a norm in the country. One cannot single out a parastatal or MDA of government that has not been hypnotized or enmeshed in this nefarious orgy of corruption at a point in time. We must devise means to stem the tide of this series of breach of trust by government officials”.
“This is why we hail the decision of the judge, Justice Nicholas Oweibo, who ordered the interim forfeiture of the money and the properties involved in this corrupt act. We would also like to commend the legal team of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for diligent prosecution of the case. We have always opined that culprits of official corruption need to be deprived of their evil accumulations, wherever and whenever they are found out, and made to face the consequence of their acts as just deserts”.
The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has commended the Lagos State House of Assembly for reducing the pension of former governors of the state by 50 percent.
In a release, issued by CACOL on behalf of its Chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran and signed by its Director, Administration and Programmes, Tola Oresanwo, he stated, “It would be recalled that the Lagos State House of Assembly, recently amended the state Pension Law for former governors and other political office holders, reducing their benefits and emoluments by 50 per cent”.
The House approved the recommendations sequel to the presentation of the report by the Chairman, House Committee on Establishment, Training and Pension, Yinka Ogundimu, during plenary. Mr Ogundimu, representing Agege II, said the committee reduced their benefits and other emoluments by 50 per cent, based on the present economic situation of the state. The lawmaker added that it had expunged the provision of houses in Abuja and Lagos for former governors, as stipulated in an earlier law operated by the state. He said that the committee report presented to the House further showed a reduction in the number of vehicles to be made available to former governors and their deputies.
The speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, however, suggested that the former governors should get two vehicles (a car and a van) instead of the three recommended by the committee. Mr Obasa also said the amended bill should provide that the cars be changed every four years instead of the three years recommended by the report.
We would also recollect that Governor Sanwo-Olu while presenting the 2021 budget to the Lagos State House of Assembly last year, was quoted as saying “in light of keeping the costs of governance low and to signal selflessness in public service, we will be sending a draft executive bill to the House imminently for the repeal of the Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007), which provides for payment of pension and other entitlements to former Governors and their Deputies”.
“We at CACOL have often posited that the continual implementation of the Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007), and other such laws that gave legal backing to the payment of Pension to Ex Governors and their deputies in different states in the country was not only insensitive, but also callous and deficient in human sensibility. It is on record that some civil servants that had served their various states for over thirty years have been on the receiving end of inadequacies in the collection of their meagre Pension and Gratuities while Ex Governors and their deputies that served for a maximum of eight years are smiling to the bank. It is annoying to note that some of these former Governors are still holding public offices and still collecting salaries from the Federal Government”.
The CACOL Boss added, “As we have said earlier, the beneficiaries of this pension already had everything they enjoyed in office paid for by tax payers during their 4 or 8 years in office. They are rich enough to take care of their needs. Many are retirees from other jobs where they enjoy pensions and other benefits. It’s unfair that those who claim to serve people turn themselves to exploiters of the same people who are suffering various degrees of deprivation sometimes based on their misrule. Sometimes, when they serve twice or deputies become governor, they want to enjoy the benefits in multiples. Meanwhile those who served for more than 30 years in various government ministries and parastatals could not access their gratuity and pensions, years after serving.
Although, we commend the Lagos State House of Assembly for this bold step. The leadership of the House has demonstrated that there is an urgent need to step up the governance of the State which cannot be done without prudent fiscal responsibility. We would still recommend further reduction in the pension paid to these ex governors and their deputies. We hope other states in the country would take a cue from this noble act of Lagos State House of Assembly and amend or repeal every anti-people, anti-development and anti-progress law in their various states.
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