Governor
of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio, promised, yesterday, to
send a proposal to the state House of Assembly to expunge aspects of the
amendment to the Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Law which put a
N100m ceiling and a N50m ceiling on the medical treatment of former
governors and former deputy governors.
In a statement
yesterday entitled: ‘The siege of truth’, Governor Akpabio frowned at
the condemnation of the amendment as well as the vilification of members
of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly for what he described as gross
misunderstanding of the intention of the amendment of the law.
The
governor berated critics of the amendment who he said have resorted to
misinforming the public for political reasons. He said “in the last few
weeks, truth has come under siege by agents of falsehood in Akwa Ibom
State. The good people of Akwa Ibom State have been unfortunately
subjected to the cruelest and most unkind political gimmickry in the
history of our state over the amendment of a sixteen-year-old law. This
tidal wave of propaganda, misinformation, lies, falsehood, mischief and
cynicism, we fear, may already have sucked in some unsuspecting members
of the public who lack the ability to appreciate the salient points of
this law and its ennobling attributes.”
According to him,
“regrettably, one of the best-kept secrets in the political scene in
Nigeria is that in Akwa Ibom State some politicians do not circumscribe
their activities within the limits of morality and decorum. Some of them
can abase the most hallowed and sacred things for their selfish
advantages. The present matter is a case in point.”
Akpabio
explained that the Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Law was “first
enacted in 1998 as the Special Grant (Former Chief Executives) Edict.
It was amended in 1999 by the Special Grant (Former Chief Executives
(Amendment) Edict of 1999) and was retained in Cap. 122 Laws of Akwa
Ibom State 2000. It was amended in 2002 by the Governors and Deputy
Governors Pension Law 2002, which was later repealed by the Governors
and Deputy Governors Pension Law 2006 assented to by my predecessor in
office on 26th April 2007.”
Setting the records straight, he said
in the course of its implementation, “we noticed a lacuna in the 2007
law, particularly on account of its open-endedness in the provisions
relating to the medical expenses and provision of funds for the
employment of domestic staff for the former Governors and Deputy
Governors.”
In addition, he said “working with the House of
Assembly, we sought to protect the law from abuse by putting a ceiling
on the medical expenses for the treatment of these senior citizens of
Akwa Ibom State. The ceiling, which was pegged at N100 million per annum
for former Governors and N50 million per annum for former Deputy
Governors, was never meant to be given either in part or in whole to
anybody at any time for any reason. It was meant to be paid to health
institutions involved in the treatment of the former Governors or former
Deputy Governors and their spouses. It was, therefore, deliberate
falsehood and organized misinformation to claim that the said money will
be paid to former Governors or Deputy Governors every year.
This
has never been the practice and the amendment has added nothing to give
credence to this obviously politicized orchestration.”
Continuing,
he pointed out that “former governors, deputy governors and their
spouses, who were not sick were not to receive a dime from the fund.
These sums, which were for the Governors and the Deputy Governor’s
medical treatment, suffered the most bashing from a mischievous vocal
minority who sought to reap political capital out of it. In their
frenzied desperation, they even claimed that the law was made for my
personal benefit. They lost sight of the fact that I am not among the
beneficiaries as I am not on pension.”
“The other sickening claim
was that we excluded some categories of eligible former Deputy
Governors and Governors. This is absolutely incorrect. Since the
Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Law 2006 referred to above, a new
eligibility provision beyond just being a former Governor or Deputy
Governor of Akwa Ibom State origin was introduced by the last
administration whereby certain persons who served in these two offices
and who would otherwise have benefited from the pension, were excluded
on account of resignation otherwise than on health grounds, impeachment
or holding office for a period less than three years. Section 3 of the
2006 version of the Law attests to this, and this provision, retained in
section 3 of the 2014 version of the Law has attracted unsavory
comments as though it was a new provision just inserted,” he stated.
Expressing
disappointment over the public outcry that greeted the law, he said
opponents of the law were out to blackmail his administration. He
said“it is distressing to all patriots in our state that this well
reasoned and thought-out solution to an open-ended law, which
common-sense indicates can be subject to abuse, has been cast rather as a
problem by fifth columnists in our state. I share the sense of
revulsion of all decent Akwa Ibom people in the Akwa Ibom State House of
Assembly in particular and the entire State in general at these
politics of blackmail.”
He, however stated that “I believe in the
Akwa Ibom project as evidenced in my work in the state. I am under oath
to protect the constitution of this great country, and this I have done
to the best of my abilities. I am obligated by the mandate given to me
by the good people of my state to do good to all manner of people and I
have not been found wanting in this responsibility. This amendment was
undertaken, with the patriotic understanding of the House of Assembly,
in fulfilment of these articles of faith.”
Reversal or no reversal, You are still a thief Oga Akpabio
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