Politics
Still On Life Pension For Politicians

In recent times, some state houses of assembly moved for the process of enacting legislation to provide monthly life pensions for legislators.
Houses of Assembly in Kano and Bayelsa States have even passed a bill to that effect and the bills are awaiting governors’ assent.
Bayelsa House of Assembly proposes N500, 000 monthly pension to the Speakers of the assembly, Deputy Speakers; N200, 000 each and members N100, 000 each, although Governor Seriake Dickson of the State has yet to assent to the bill.
Kano State House of Assembly has a similar bill awaiting Governor Abdulahi Ganduje’s assent, while Ekiti State House of Assembly is reported to have been working in that regard.
Although none of the state governors has approved the bill, the proposed law continues to attract reactions from the public.
A large segment of the public notes that any push to make the bill for life pension for political office holders will prompt other states and Federal Government to do same to the detriment of the masses.
A stalwart of the Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party, Mr Sesugh Akume, says it is inappropriate for some political office holders to institute a pension scheme for themselves after leaving office.
He explains that political positions ought to be a privilege and opportunity to serve the people and not as a career one can retire with a pension.
“The idea of severance packages and life pensions for elected officials is wrong and without merit,’’ he observes.
In his view, an economist, Prof. AbdulGafar ljaiya, says paying life pension to political office holders will cripple the anti corruption campaign of the present administration.
Ijaiya, from University of Ilorin, insists that political office holders, irrespective of years they occupy offices, do not qualify for pensions under the constitution.
“The political office holders taking pensions are thieves and corrupt officers who are retarding the nation’s economic growth and development,’’ he says.
Ijaiya is of the opinion that majority of the politicians has retired from their primary job where they draw pensions.
Similarly, financial experts, Mr Adetunji Adepeju and Mr Samson Olalere, argue that granting life pension to political office holders will put undue pressure on the economy.
“Life pension for political office holders in Nigeria is not needed, especially if you look at the executive.
“The maximum time you can spend in office is eight years, do you want to compare that with civil servants some of whom spend 35 years in the course of their career.
“The economic realities in Nigeria cannot support such idea of life pension,’’ Olalere says.
Adepeju says, “rather than take pension from government coffers after leaving office, let political office holders engage in pension scheme and draw from their monthly income.’’
However, the Branch Manager of Leadway Assurance Company in Ibadan, Mr Adekunle Akinpelu, observes that political office holders can also benefit from contributory pension scheme if while in office they sign up with pension fund administrators.
But the Secretary of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners in Oyo, Mr Olusegun Abatan, insists that life pensions for political office holders are immoral and ungodly.
“How can a politician that serves for four years want to get life pension when a civil servant that works for 35 years is owed 60 months of unpaid pension arrears,’’ Abatan asks.
In his view, the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Pensioners in Ondo Chief Raphael Adetuwo, advises that government should rather empower the Revenue Mobilisations, Allocation and Fiscal Commission to place all political office holders in the country on the same salary scale as civil servants.
He says:”The humongous salaries and allowances of public office holders, especially senators and House of Representatives members need to be reviewed.
“How can these people be collecting such huge money in a country where 80 per cent of the population are battling to meet their daily need?’’
A salary Grade Level 15 civil servant at the Okitipupa Local Government Council , Mr Obadele Meroyi, observes that “most of the political office holders who possess mere school certificate, are collecting salaries, allowances and packages far better than a professor and a salary Grade Level 17 civil servant.
“Giving them life pension automatically means legalising corruption and paying people who are doing absolutely nothing more than those doing the real job’’, he observes.
However, Assemblyman Tunbosun Oyintiloye of the Osun House of Assembly notes that before the bill for life pension for political office holders can be passed, it is necessary to find out what are the best international practices in developed democracies.
According to the lawmaker, such law might be a welcome development to the beneficiaries but there is need to be cautious of what its impact will be on the economy.
But the Head of Political Science Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Olajire Bamisaye, says placing political office holders on life pension will have a drag on the national economy.
Chief Executive Officer, Active Support for Rural People Initiative, a non-governmental organisation in Kebbi, Malam Ibrahim Ngaski, explains that “the implication of approving pension for politicians is that the funds meant for developing rural communities will be diverted to their pension payment.
“Rather than clamour for undeserved pension, political office holders should help to sanitise existing pension schemes so that contributors will be able to access their money immediately after retirement.’’
A civil servant in Kano, Malam Ali Sani,warns that any attempt to introduce life pension for political office holders in the state will be resisted, while Malam Hassan Aminu, a civil servant in Kano, advises Nigerians to move against the plan.
Former Governor of old Sokoto, Malam Yahaya Abdulkarim, recalls that government funds are meant for development and ought to be channelled through proper ways that will facilitate development in all sectors not on pensions for politicians.
In his view, a lecturer at Umaru Musa Yar’Adua University, Katsina, Dr Suleiman Lawal, observes that any attempt to implement pension for politicians is injustice and will end up creating serious financial crisis in the affected states.
Further to this, Centre for Change Initiative, a civil society organisation, describes the proposed life pensions for political office holders as an imposition of the burden of their lifetime survival on innocent taxpayers.
The president of the group, Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, insists that such pensions for lawmakers will take a toll on the welfare of the people.
Expressing concern on the development, Chairman, Lagos Civil Service Union, Mr Laide Bakare, advises that proposed laws in favour of pension for politicians ought to be discouraged.
“Whoever has served the people should leave honourably and go back to his job or other jobs; serving Nigeria for eight years and demanding a life pension is highly insensitive to the plight of Nigerians.
“Political office holders such as governors are contracted to do their assignments through elections and so, they should not enjoy pensions like regular civil servants,’’ he says.
Also, Director, Centre for Pension Rights Advocacy, Mr Takor Ivor, observes that the proposed life pension for political office holders is inappropriate.
He calls on the legislators at the federal and state levels to rather propose bills that can advance the country’s socio-economic development.
The Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, Lagos State Chapter, as well, calls on the public to rise up against the campaign for life pension for politicians.
“In any state where this is passed into law, the people of that state should rise and protest and the entire Nigerian masses should rise against such; it is a scam of the highest order.
Irrespective of the critics’ argument, concerned Nigerians observe that question as to whether or not life pensions should be granted to politicians is still being discussed among stakeholders in the South-South geopolitical zone of the country.
A lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Calabar, Dr Peter Uwem, therefore, calls on state governors in Nigeria to refuse assent to any bill on life pension for politicians initiated by lawmakers.
“How can they ever imagine a life pension for themselves when some states cannot afford to clear the meagre amount of pensions and gratuities owed their civil servants?
“Any state governor that approves life pension for lawmakers is calling for crisis because what these politicians earn while in office is enough to take care of them.
“Some of them spend 12 years with jumbo allowances throughout, why then should they still be asking for life pension,’’ he asks.
“I see no reason why politicians who serve for a short period of time should be given life pension when compared to civil servants.
“Government should make political offices, especially the legislature to be a part time, this would be the best for our growing political nation, Mrs Esther Okon, a civil servant in Cross River, also observes.
Similarly, a pension fund manager, pleading anonymity, expresses dissatisfaction over moves by some legislators to make laws allowing political office holders in Nigeria to be entitled to life pensions.
He describes the proposal as obnoxious, noting that such pension bills, especially the one recently moved by legislators in Bayelsa, if passed into law, will further drain the country of its scarce resources.
A pensioner, Mr Forsebry Ere, observes that the move by the Bayelsa lawmakers to have life pension is uncalled for.
“The first thing to consider is that political office is not the regular 35-year civil service job or attaining 60 years of age in service before retirement.
“What should bother the lawmakers ought to be embarking on developmental projects such as primary healthcare and improvement on public schools, among others,’’ Ere says.
In his opinion, a civil servant in Bauchi, Mr Muhammad Ningi, explains that although the constitution mandated politicians to make laws, moving for life pension for political office holders is unpatriotic.
Instead of pushing for life pension for politicians, a pensioner in Yola, Bello Joseph, advises politicians, as representatives of the people, to impress it on government at all levels to settle the entitlements of pensioners.
However, retired staff of Dutse Local Government Education Department, Malam Muhammad Barau, has a different opinion.
Kayode Olaitan
Politics
Reps Constitution Review Committee Holds Zonal Hearing For Rivers, C’River, Akwa Ibom In Calabar

A press statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Linus Obogo, disclosed that the Calabar Centre — designated as Centre B — will host representatives and stakeholders from Cross River, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom States.
The public hearing is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. at the Transcorp (Metropolitan) Hotel, Calabar.
The initiative, according to the statement, is designed to promote inclusive dialogue and capture the aspirations of Nigerians from all regions.
It aims to serve as a platform for citizens to contribute meaningfully to the ongoing national efforts to refine and strengthen the country’s legal and institutional frameworks.
“Citizens, civil society groups, professional bodies, traditional rulers, and other interest blocs are invited to participate in this landmark engagement aimed at advancing a more just, equitable, and responsive Nigerian Constitution,” the statement read.
The hearing forms part of the broader review process of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and is seen as a strategic move toward fostering national unity and addressing structural legal issues within the federation.
Politics
Tinubu’s Contribution To Buhari’s Presidency Marginal – Ex-SGF

For the first time since 2022, when then-presidential aspirant Alhaji Bola Tinubu declared he made former President Buhari Nigeria’s President in 2015, Mr Mustapha dismissed the claims, stressing that the merger only contributed about three million votes in addition to Buhari’s existing 12 million votes in the North.
He insisted that former President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to the breakthrough, not the three million votes from the merging parties, which he described as insignificant.
Speaking on the role of the merging parties, particularly President Tinubu, the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Mr Mustapha, who was the keynote speaker at the launch of the book ‘According to the President: Lessons from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience’ authored by Mallam Garba Shehu, described the impact of the votes from other merging parties as very insignificant.
In attendance were former Head of State Yakubu Gowon, chair of the event; immediate past Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; SGF George Akume, who represented President Tinubu; PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar; former Chief of Staff to Buhari Ibrahim Gambari; elder statesman Babagana Kingibe; former governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Chris Ngige (Anambra), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Raji Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); former ministers Solomon Dalung and Sunday Dare; former Army Chief Tukur Buratai, and Bayo Onanuga, President Tinubu’s spokesman, among others.
According to Mr Mustapha, “I do not intend to stir up any controversy. The merger in 2013 was midwifed to create a Buhari presidency. Let us look at the statistics. In the 2003 election, it was the Obasanjo-Buhari presidential contest where Buhari recorded 12.7 million votes. In 2007, it came to 6.6 million, and it went back to 12.2 million in 2011.
“When we were conceptualising the merger, what would give us a headstart? Obviously, it was at the back of our consciousness that the merger with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), though it had only one state, the ACN had six states, ANPP three states, and when you sum up the total votes that we had as the presidency in 2015, the aggregate of the total votes was 15.4 million.
“So, basically, what we brought to the table after the merger outside the Buhari 12.5 million votes was three million. Before turning to that presidency, it is important to recognise the former President’s role in reshaping Nigeria’s political trajectory.
“In early 2013, as the leader of the CPC, Buhari formally requested and supported the creation of a CPC merger committee, part of a broader coalition-building process that brought together the ACN, ANPP, APGA faction, and elements of the ruling party through the breakaway ‘new PDP’ group. His endorsement and participation, along with other party leaders such as President Tinubu and Senator Ali Modu Sheriff, lent credibility and direction to the merger, helping to unify disparate party factions under the banner of the APC. That coalition-building paved the way for the first democratic defeat of an incumbent ruling party in Nigeria’s history.
“President Buhari’s integrity, national stature, and disciplined messaging were central to that breakthrough. No account of President Buhari’s tenure would be complete without acknowledging the extended periods he spent on medical leave. These moments, while politically delicate, were also telling of his leadership philosophy and personality,” he said.
In his remarks, President Tinubu promised to build on the legacies of former President Buhari, stressing that “nation-building is a relay. The efforts of one administration lay the foundation for the next.
“In this regard, I acknowledge the efforts of my predecessor, President Buhari, and assure all Nigerians that the reform-oriented path he initiated will be consolidated and strengthened under this administration. Our Renewed Hope Agenda is inspired by the desire to build a resilient, just, and inclusive Nigeria—a nation that delivers dividends of democracy to all its citizens”.
Politics
Your Lies Chasing Investors From Nigeria, Omokri Slams Obi
Speaking during an appearance on live television on Wednesday, Mr Omokri alleged that Mr Obi’s statements were misleading and damaging to the country’s economic prospects.
Mr Omokri said some investors currently operating in Nigeria were considering exiting the market due to Mr Obi’s remarks.
“That is not true. He doesn’t rile me up. I rile him up. The reason why I came here is because I’m a patriot. Peter Obi lied. You know, foreign direct investors are watching your programme, who are making investment decisions not to come to Nigeria. There are foreign investors in Nigeria that are making investment decisions to leave Nigeria because of the lie he told.
“One of the lies he told is that President Tinubu has borrowed more than the administrations of Yar’Adua, Jonathan, Buhari. That is a blatant lie”, Mr Omokri said.
To buttress his claims, Mr Omokri referenced figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO), maintaining that President Tinubu had actually reduced Nigeria’s external debt burden since assuming office.
“I have here with me data from the Debt Management Office, and Nigerians who are watching can go to DMO.com and search Debt Management Office, Nigeria State of Indebtedness 2015.
“As of 2015, Nigeria was owing a total of $63 billion. When Buhari was leaving office, Nigeria was owing $113 billion. Today, from the DMO, our debt has gone from $113 billion to $97 billion, meaning that Tinubu has reduced our debt by over $14 billion.
“We should be appreciating this man. Yet Peter Obi came here and lied to the Nigerian people. He took the debts and translated them into naira to make it look like the debts have increased”, he said.
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