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Though it is backed by law, the severance allowance to be paid by federal and state political office holders as they leave office is stirring anger among Nigerians. STANLEY NKWOCHA reports
All things being equal, President Goodluck Jonathan and major political office holders like the National Assembly leadership and ministers will bleed the nation’s treasury by about N3.24 billion when they leave office by May 29 ; no thanks to a severance package prepared for them by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
According to the package, Jonathan, who will hand over to the president-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, on May 29, is entitled to 300 per cent of his annual basic salary. This is aside other constitutional allowances or entitlement that may accrue to him.
While the president will be richer by N10.5b after May 29, his vice, Namadi Sambo will have his bank account swollen by about N9b. Ditto for the about 76 non returning senators and about 290 non returning House of Representative members who are expected to be paid about N462m and N1.7b, respectively. This means while each outgoing senator is expected to have his or her account credited with the sum of N6m, outgoing House members would each pocket about N5.09m.
Forty-two ministers comprising senior and junior ministers who served under the Jonathan administration are to take home a total of N253, 967m, just as other aides such as special advisers and senior special assistants and others have about N775m earmarked for them also. This translates to senior and junior ministers taking home N6m and N5.8m in that order.
Since these revelations were made, mixed reactions have continued to trail it with not a few Nigerians frowning at the decision of RMAFC.
Following the report exclusively published by The Punch, the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to set example by rejecting the offer so that other beneficiaries could do the same.
“If the President and all those that have been awarded the jumbo pay refuse to do the needful by rejecting the pay, we will be forced to conclude that we Nigerians are just working and living for our political leaders and this will be too bad. If the Presidency was not privy to this scandalous severance benefits, it must publicly distance itself from the ill-advised benefits and reject the offer immediately,” the workers said in a statement on Wednesday.
ASCSN decried the package, describing it as ‘financial recklessness’.
Its president, Bobboi Bala Kaigama and secretary-general, Alade Lawal, said the association was miffed that despite public outcry against such policies, occasioned by dwindling oil revenue, the Federal Government still could muster the courage to embark on such acts.
“This is a sacrilege and unacceptable in an economy where civil servants who serve the country for 35 years or attain the age of 60 years are not paid any gratuity after service. We demand that all stakeholders in the Nigeria project stand up now and oppose this financial recklessness,”ASCSN stated.
Secretary general of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), Eze Willy Ezugwu said it was unfortunate that the out-going administration could allow itself to be dragged into the politics of severance package after the elections.
He queried the rationale behind these payments noting that it was immoral for the outgoing government to further bleed the nation’s treasury by such colossal amounts when going by his own assessment, the administration did not fight corruption.
“ It is the height of insensitivity for a government which never bothered to fight corruption, thereby allowing its ministers and others to embark on a looting spree, to allow such financial malfeasance on the system.
“This was a policy carriedout in bad faith and taste and hence at variance with the expectation of most working class Nigerians who after working for over 35 years never get to save anything and end up dying in queues while chasing pensions and gratuity. For some privileged Nigerians who loot the treasury to still corner for themselves such packages, no matter the name after few years of service is most unfortunate and must be resisted,” Ezugwu stated.
On his part, Barr Shehu Abdulkadir stated that though the RMAFC is mandated by law to make this payment, it remains to be seen if it acted in good faith as necessitated by law.
While the RMAFC might have adjudicated on the benefits for the presidency and legislators, states government and houses of assembly have not been left in the seeming spoil. An attempt by outgoing governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State to push a bill that sort to see him earn hundreds of millions of naira after leaving office was met with criticisms, forcing the state’s assembly to repeal the law and with the governor turning around to back the state assembly to do so.
In Lagos State, it is a different ball game as such packages have long gone into motion since 2007 and has even been modified to even accommodate the speaker and the deputy speaker of the Assembly.
This prompted the governorship candidate of the National Conscience Party (NCP) at the last governorship election to declare the law as total wastage and insensitive. Comrade Ayodele Akele who is also not happy with the huge cost of governance in Lagos State, which he said was hampering delivery of democracy dividends and abolition of poverty.
He described as scandalous and unsustainable the huge severance package of governors and their deputies, vowing to abolish it if he got elected.
“Lagosians must know this obnoxious law, in its original form as provided for the former governors and deputy governors is a criminal and scandalous legacy in the greedy expropriation of the scarce resources of Lagos State. Specifically, this unprecedented and indeed most lucrative pension in the world under ‘progressive’ APC Lagos State provide for payment of pensions and other fringe benefits to former Lagos State governors and deputy governors some stupendous money and other benefits that ensure a perpetual though undeserved life of luxury for former governors and deputy governors on the bills and resources of Lagos State sadly in the midst of abject poverty among Lagosians.”
With the Lagos State severance law, a former governor is entitled to six new cars every three years and a house in Lagos and another in Abuja. “A house in Lagos will cost N500 million and Abuja N700 million. The former governor and family (spouse and children-both married and unmarried) are entitled to free medical, not capped. The ex-governor is entitled to a cook, steward gardener and other domestic staff,” Akele said.
Others freebies include 100 per cent annual basic salary of incumbent governor and same for the deputy governor. This is to be reviewed every five years where there is salary review of the political office holders by the revenue mobilization allocation and fiscal commission.
Both the former governor and his deputy get 300 per cent of their annual basic salary as furniture allowance. The two also get 30 per cent of their annual basic salary for car maintenance. They collect 10 per cent of their annual basic salary for house maintenance and another 10 per cent of their annual basic salary for entertainment.
Twenty percent of their annual basic salary is for utility while personal assistants appointed by them are to collect 25 per cent of their respective annual basic salary.
his is in addition to one residential house for the former governor and deputy governor at any location of their choice in Lagos State and one residential house in the federal capital territory for the former governor.
“Further to be provided for the former governor is three cars, one pilot car and two back-up cars. The cars are to be replaced every three years. Meanwhile, his deputy’s fleet is provided with two cars plus one pilot car and one backup car. Added to these is a full complement of domestic staff, all of them schedule to draw life pension from state coffer,” Akele observed.
While others fault the basis for earmarking such an amount of money for such purposes in the face of the economic challenges the country is grappling with, others have simply given these crop of politicians thumbs down for the packages.
Some other chastise the RMAFC for the outlandish profligacy. A report recently quoted Barrister Adegboruwa as calling for an immediate drastic cut in the packages.
“I believe that given the monumental and outrageous salaries, benefits and allowances that are being paid to the outgoing members of this executive, the legislators especially the House of Representatives, senators and ministers, I believe they should save Nigerians from the luxury of any outrageous allowance.
Do political office holders deserve such severance packages? What are the yardsticks for establishing these? Should these benefits be narrowed down to certain class of political servants? Are these packages morally right in the eyes of the law?
These and many more continue to be the nagging issues surrounding state and federal government severance packages. Despite the loud outcries, the beneficiaries from both the states and the federal government have, however, remained mum.
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