'Senators collecting double salaries are betraying Public Trust' -Legislative Expert

By Yusuf Goje

A legislature expert, Ambassador Chibuzo Okererke, has called for the immediate amendment of the National Assembly Commission Act, Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission, and States Pension laws which empower former governors and their deputies presently serving as senators and ministers to earn double salary under the guise of pension.

Chibuzo who made this call in Kaduna penultimate week, at a civil society/media roundtable organized by Centre-LSD, stressed that "some provisions of these laws are a problem to Nigeria and should be amended forthwith".

"It is a conspiracy by the political elite against the people", Chibuzo said, revealing that available records show that about 40 billion naira has been spent on double salaries for the officials, not to mention other allowances accruing them.

The Ambassador called on the participants to engage in this renewed advocacy pressing for the amendments of laws skewed in favor of legislators and public servants.

Also speaking, the Progamme Manager of Centre-LSD, Victoria Udoh, disclosed that 21 serving senators and public servants are presently receiving salaries in the name of pensions from their respective states as former governors and deputy governors, and at the same time drawing salaries and allowances as members of National Assembly.

"Double emoluments and large severance benefits for the former governors and deputy governors now serving as public officials constitute nothing other than a barefaced betrayal of public trust", the Program Manager summed up.

Comments

Kaduna COVID-19 Lockdown, People Living with Disabilities and Inclusion

Chairman JONAPWD, Abdulaziz Suleiman , (Right) and a colleague (Middle) in a chat with CALPED's Yusuf Goje By SMITH WAYA Before the index case of Corona virus (Covid-19) in Nigeria, the Kaduna state government held a public hearing on the proposed Kaduna state social protection policy, in line with the administration's slogan of putting the people first. The Joint National Associations of Person with Disability(JONAPWD), Kaduna chapter, as the umbrella body for people living disabilities in the State, were invited to present a position paper on their expectations of the new policy. The Disability Community took advantage of the town-hall meeting to appeal to the state government to work assiduously towards reducing poverty and hunger in their household. The Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmed El-Rufai, assured them of the state government's commitment in ensuring that no one is left behind especially people living with disabilities. Incidently, as the State governm...

NEWS FEATURE: Governor el-Rufai and the Sanctity of the Ballot

el-Rufai: Voting at his polling unit BY NASIRU JAGABA F irst of all, let me start by congratulating the Citizens of Kaduna State, for violence free election in the local government polls. The peaceful conduct of the citizens in Kaduna despite the happenings that had shown clearly the desperation of persons in the corridor of power to manipulate, overturn the result refused to give in to the chaos but rather responded with all sense of maturity and confidence in the sanctity of the ballot. Had Kaduna responded in similar desperation as shown by the institutional riggers, perhaps curfew would have been slammed in several areas which would have created the perfect cover for the malpractices to happen. The hate speeches and incitement from the top government officials in Kaduna state government did not end on the platforms for the campaigns alone but went further to reflect in the exercise that held. There are several accounts going round about thugs accompanyin...

Climate Action: Hope rises for Kaduna!

A multi-stakeholder project to plant 10 million economic trees in Kaduna state in the next six years is in the works towards enhancing the state's vegetal cover, in accordance with the renewed global campaign against climate change. Head, Social and Enterprise Development of the Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment and Development (CALPED), Dangwa Abbas Danjuma who dropped the hint during the week in Kaduna while on a courtesy visit to the Federal College of Forestry Mechanization, explained: "The Coalition is interested in driving a multi-stakeholder project to plant 10 million economic trees in Kaduna State on or before the end of the year 2025, this is towards re-greening Kaduna. We desire to do so across local governments in the state to empower citizens to take action against deforestation through community based groups with a sustainability plan to develop a robust value chain to improve livelihoods." While apprec...

Advocacy News

Transparency and Accountability: Kaduna LG Councils lock horns over N20 million prize money Pic: From Left: Director Budget Kaduna North, Mr Andrew Swat, Deputy Director Planning, Budget and Planning Commission, Alhaji Badamasi Musa and CALPED's Head of Governance, Mr Yusuf Goje, exchanging views during the visit In a renewed move to take governance closer to the grassroots, all the 23 Local Government Councils of Kaduna state are being assessed on the basis of adherence to policy documents, budget planning and preparation process predicated on increasing internally generated revenue (IGR), improved public procurement system and reduced payroll fraud, tracking of absenteeism of primary school teachers and health personnel and the essence of abiding by guidelines of the state to engender transparency and accountability. Deputy Director Planning in the state's Budget and Planning Commission, Badamasi Musa who led the Budget Assessment team to the Kaduna North Loca...

'Exported Nigeria yams weren't rejected' - Ministerial Aide

Yams harvested for market By YUSUF GOJE T he Technical Assistant to the Honorable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development on Quality Control and Standardization, Mrs Heather R. Akanni, has adjudged Nigerian yams to be of high quality, debunking claims by some section of the media that the first exported products of yam were rejected due to poor quality. She stated that: “Nigerian yams were not rejected because of quality, but due to the long period it took to arrive its destination, some of the products got spoiled along the way. Unfortunately, some of the media outfits only chose to harp on a baseless standpoint that they were rejected". She disclosed that, "the law banning yam export is being reviewed and presently at the second reading stage in the National Assembly”. In ensuring that our yams continue to meet the international standards, she said, clustering of farmers to ensure that only approved certified yam seeds were made available to them is...

Cubinks NEWS

Search This Blog