According to Prof. Yahaya Kuta, a former secretary to the Niger State Government, former governors who take advantage of their states’ life pension plans, exotic automobiles, and other privileges while serving as ministers shoulder a moral responsibility.
The former governor of Ogun State, Senator Gbenga Daniel, claimed he wrote to the state administration to suspend his pension ever since he was elected to the Senate. Kuta advised the ministers to follow in his footsteps.
This was said by the former SSG to our reporter on Saturday. The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, in particular, pushed President Bola Tinubu to compel the former governors in his cabinet to stop receiving pensions, and these appeals were the background against which he spoke.
A group of former governors were sworn in as members of Tinubu’s cabinet on Monday. Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Nyesom Wike (Rivers), Bello Matawalle (Zamfara), Adegboyega Oyetola (Osun), David Umahi (Ebonyi), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), and Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe) are among them.
Former Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki said that in August 2017 he ceased receiving pension payments from the state of Kwara, where he was governor from 2003 to 2011. The action had received praise from SERAP.
According to the former SSG, “They could take a cue from Senator Gbenga Daniel, who wrote to the governor of his state asking him to stop receiving a pension from the state going forward.
‘That’s the spirit,’ They don’t need to be informed because accepting a double ration in the face of severe hunger, poverty, and despair imposes a moral obligation.
