In a bid to plug a conduit through which public funds are being siphoned in Benue State, the Benue State House of Assembly has recently quashed the State’s lifetime maintenance law that benefits former governors and their deputies. Leading the debate on the law at the House plenary, the House Committee Chairman on Appointments, Public Service, and Pension, Douglas Akya, representing Makurdi South constituency, described the law as repugnant to good conscience and therefore overdue for annulment.
If the Benue State government could hardly pay its workers monthly salaries, pensions, and gratuities to its pensioners from its lean purse, it would be preposterously contradictory for it to expend huge sums of money to maintain former governors and their deputies for life, argued Akya. Backing Akya, the other Benue State lawmakers similarly argued that it is unwise for Benue State to maintain former governors and their deputies for life amid its huge infrastructure gaps and debt burden.
It would be recalled that before quitting office, former Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, had initiated a bill to provide a life pension for all former governors and their deputies. The bill, which was eventually passed into law by the Ninth Benue State Assembly on May 25, 2023, and assented to as law by former Governor Ortom four days before the end of his eight-year tenure, provided for the payment of N40 million in four months in addition to the provision of two Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) as well as six stewards to a former governor such as Ortom, while the former deputy governor was entitled to N25 million as a stipend in four months, one SUV, and three stewards.
However, since the enactment of the law by the Ortom administration, it has been trailed by widespread public outcry, particularly from the then-opposition party which later won the governorship election. It is hardly surprising therefore that the present Benue State House of Assembly has deemed it fit to annul the vexatious and offensive law.
We heartily applaud the Benue State House of Assembly for fearlessly and courageously quashing the unjust and oppressive lifetime maintenance law. Houses of Assembly of other states in the federation should take a cue from the Benue State House of Assembly and proceed to annul such oppressive laws in their respective states. It is sad that instead of passing laws to tackle the pressing problems afflicting Benue State, such as insecurity, lack of access to basic education, healthcare, and infrastructure development, the Ninth Benue State House of Assembly, swayed by the influence of former Governor Ortom, passed a lifetime maintenance law. This law, later assented to by Ortom, aimed to maintain the former governors (including Governor Ortom) and their deputies in Benue State. The Ninth Benue State Assembly certainly failed to consider the broader context of social equity; it failed to realise that benefits for former governors and deputies cannot overshadow the needs of other public servants and citizens of Benue State.
The quashing of the lifetime maintenance law attests to the fact that the process of enacting and implementing laws should be transparent. Lawmakers should be mindful of public perception when enacting laws. By ensuring that everyone’s interests are considered, these laws can reduce conflicts and promote a sense of shared purpose. Laws perceived by the public as overly generous or unnecessary can lead to public outcry. Before the enactment of any law, the input of the public and stakeholders should be sought and elicited. A law that diverts scarce Benue State resources away from essential public services and priorities to provide lifelong benefits to former governors and their deputies is a completely misplaced priority and would exert a significant financial burden on Benue State.
Lawmakers in the country should enact laws that prioritise the public interest, promote accountability, and ensure that resources are allocated more equitably. They should enact laws that ensure effective oversight of the executive branch to prevent corruption and ensure efficient use of public funds. They should also develop and pass laws that address pressing national issues such as security, education, healthcare, and infrastructure development. Additionally, they should engage with their constituents to understand their needs and concerns and advocate for policies that benefit them. Lawmakers should support anti-corruption efforts and canvass transparency and accountability in government.
Enacting laws that allocate resources to support former governors and their deputies when many citizens struggle to access basic services like healthcare, education, and social security can damage public trust and reinforce negative perceptions of government and politics as being out of touch with the people’s needs. Besides, such laws may perpetuate a culture of entitlement and undermine accountability, as former state executives and officials may feel insulated from scrutiny and responsibility. Laws benefiting former governors and deputies are certainly a conflict of interest, as lawmakers may be motivated by personal gain or political loyalty rather than the public interest in enacting such laws. Instead of enacting a lifetime maintenance law for ex-governors and their deputies, the Benue State lawmakers could consider co-opting or reintegrating former governors, deputies, and officials into the development efforts of the state.
All said, by courageously and fearlessly quashing the Benue State lifetime maintenance law, the Benue State House of Assembly has indeed shown a good example worth emulating by other State Houses of Assembly in the country. If constitutional democracy must lead to true human development and human flourishing, then it must be freed from the stranglehold of men of unruly passions and creatures of appetite. Certainly, a democracy that creates loopholes for flourishing fraud and corruption is as bad as a military dictatorship.
