Tinubu Was The First Governor To Introduce This Obnoxious Pension Law Prior To Leaving Office – Edwin Clark

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the President of Nigeria, and Godswill Obot Akpabio, the President of the Senate, have been accused by Edwin Clark, an elder statesman and leader of the Ijaw people, of passing two “irresponsible laws” when they were governors of the states of Lagos and Akwa Ibom, respectively.

(Photo courtesy of the official Facebook page for The Vanguard)

Between 1999 through 2007, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, running on the platform of the now-defunct Alliance for Democracy (AD), was governor of Lagos State. Godswill Obot Akpabio, running on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, was governor of Akwa Ibom State.

According to The Vanguard, in his 688-page autobiography, Edwin Clark laments that corruption has been Nigeria’s downfall.

An unneeded statute that governors have their stooges in the State Houses of Assembly write to guarantee them (the governors) a life pension is a new type of corruption, according to a former Federal Commissioner for Information. I think this is quite careless of them. In terms of perks, what they receive in just four years is greater than what any ‘loyal’ civil or public servant can receive after thirty or thirty-five years of active service.

In addition, he said, “Two examples of such irresponsible laws are: the Life Pension Law introduced by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State, and the former Governor and Deputy Governor’s Pension Bill 2014 introduced by former Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Godswill Obot Akpabio.”

(Photo courtesy of the official Facebook page for The Nation newspaper)

He said, “It will be recalled that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was Governor of Lagos State for eight years was the first Governor to introduce this obnoxious pension law prior to leaving office, despite all he had acquired in his eight years as the unchallenged Governor of Lagos State.”

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