Akwa Ibom gov’ship candidates reject pensions for predescessors; Insist on human capital dev, others
Dennis Udo-Udoma, Uyo
Governorship candidates of some political parties in Akwa Ibom yesterday kicked against the payment of honororiam to former governors as political settlement after office.
They promised to do away with such policy which they described as self-serving.
The governorship candidates made the vow during Governorship Debate 2023, organized by Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Akwa Ibom Chapte, at Ibom Icon Hotel and Golf Resort.
They said it was unfair for former governors to be paid pensions when majority of the civil servants who served the state for 35 years and retired could not be paid by the state government.
The candidates of the APC and PDP, Akan Udofia and Umo Eno respectively were absent at the debate which attracted a sizable crowd and was sponsored by many organisations, including Action Aid and Project Alert among others.
Fielding questions from panelists on what would be his position on the payment of pensions to former governors if elected, Ezekiel Nya-Etok of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) said he would have nothing of it, adding that, any governor who has spent four or eight years in office should be able to take care of himself after leaving office.
“I will stop and have it abolished, the time has come for the people to elect good people who will think about the development of the state and not their selfish interest,’’ he said.
For the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) candidate, John James Akpanudoedehe, who was the immediate past interim secretary of the APC and former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) said, he would approve a special benefit to former governor, Victor Attah for his visionary leadership of the state but would abolish the payment of pensions to other governors.
According to Ekere Essien, a medical doctor and governorship candidate of the Action Democracy Party (ADC), “governance is for service, it should not be for making gains or profit”.
Some of the governors want to grab it all and some of them don’t have experience in the private sector, that is the reason they want to grab and grab.
“As for me, I will not allow this bogus pension to continue, it is unfair and insensitive. I will not allow it to stand under my watch. A governor does not need a pension. I will never never do that.’’
While Obong Bassey Albert also known as OBA of the Young Peoples Party (YPP), who joined the debate through zoom said, he would only support medical reimbursement for former governors and not the payment of pensions, as Iboro Otu of the African Action Congress (AAC) said it was not a reward seat promising to abolish pension payment to former governors.
On the development of a deep sea port in the state which has been on the drawing board of successive administrations, the governorship candidates said it was a doable project which they would implement to create jobs and expand the economic frontiers of the state.
Otu said it was the responsibility of the Federal Government to construct the deep sea port in the state adding that, he would only support the efforts and initiatives of the federal government.
“Developing the deep seaport is not a priority, it should be delayed for at least 20 years, I will support the federal government to develop the port, we will develop our people first before developing the port, let the federal government construct the seaport,’’ he said.
The governorship candidates who also answered questions on other issues including whether they would obtain more loans for the state as it is presently and, what they would do with the growing debt stock of the state government emphasized, if they are elected, they would reschedule the debts and resist the urge to secure more loans.
“We will reschedule the debt, we will look for experts to advise us on the issue of debts,’’ said the NNPP candidate, John James Akpanudoedehe.
