Less than one day the Zamfara House of Assembly repealed the law mandating the state government to pay pension and other entitlements of former governors and deputies, as well as those of Speakers and their deputies, Bello Matawalle, Zamfara governor, has signed the bill into law.
This action might have been trigerred by Abdul-aziz Yari Abubakar, immediate past Zamfara Governor of Zamfara State of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who publicly protested that his monthly N10 million pension was not paid to him.
Matawalle who assented the bill on Wednesday into law is of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
Findings by Straightnews show that five former governors who were earning the monthly pensions from Zamfara State treasury are still alive and hail from Sokoto State.
Each former governor was said to have earned N10 million, a deputy governor collected N5 million, while a speaker and deputy speaker got N5 million each on a monthly basis all amounting to N700,000 million yearly.
It is learned that Zamfara government usually provided two cars to each of the former governor every four years, a building for each of the former governor either in Nigeria or in the overseas, settle medical bills of the political pensioners and their families incurred in Nigeria and in the overseas.
Recall that Hon Faruk Musa Dosara, the House leader, presented the bill to the House on Tuesday, and urged his colleagues to, as a matter of urgency, consider the repeal of the law which provided jumbo pay for former political leaders in the state to the detriment of retired civil servants who have not been paid their entitlements over the years.
Dosara said the category of past leaders were collecting over N700,000 million annually, which, he said, the present state economy could not accommodate for now.
Seconding the motion at the chamber, Hon Tukur Jekada Birnin Tudu from Bakura local government, said the abolition of the law was necessary, arguing that “it is detrimental to the socio-economic wellbeing of our people.”
After serious deliberations and contributions by House members, the Speaker, Hon Nasiru Mu’azu Magarya, ordered the clerk of the House to give the bill first and second reading.
The House then went for a committee of whole meeting, after which the bill went for a third reading.
The House resolved that the bill has now been passed into law and would be sent to the governor for assent.
With this development, all past political leaders in the state will no longer enjoy any entitlements unless those prescribed by the National Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
After serious deliberations and contributions by House members, the Speaker, Hon Nasiru Mu’azu Magarya, ordered the clerk of the House to give the bill first and second reading.
The House then went for a committee of whole meeting, after which the bill went for a third reading.
The House resolved that the bill has now been passed into law and would be sent to the governor for assent.
With this development, all past political leaders in the state will no longer enjoy any entitlements unless those prescribed by the National Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
