Saraki asks Kwara state to stop paying him pension, urges others to do same
- Senator Bukola Saraki has informed Kogi state to stop paying him pension as former governor
- This was sequel to complaints from groups and individual that som former governors were still collecting pension as ministers and senators
- The Senate President urged others who were like him to also follow suit to help the country
After many complaints that former governors who are currently senators or ministers were still receiving pension and salary in their new jobs, the president of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said he has stopped collecting pension in Kwara as a former governor.
Saraki said that he wrote a letter to the state government to stop the payment of the pension after the complaints arose.
Some of the outcry emanated from a civil society organisation known as Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), which accused the former governors of receiving double pay illegally.
Saraki said: “No, I’m not collecting pension; the moment I saw that allegation, I wrote to my state to stop my pension.
“So, I speak for myself on that part; I’m not doing that, I am not receiving pension from my state."
READ ALSO: US rights group arrives Nigeria over call to ban Saraki, 10 others from entering US
According to NAN, when he was asked about other senators affected, he said: “I think I will leave everybody to their individual decision.
“Morally, if you have got another job, you should give it up until when you are truly a pensioner.
“Some of these oversights are not addressing the issues. What the states should do is to go and amend their laws to say that if you have another appointment then you are not entitled to that benefit.
“With this, we will just simplify the matter.”
He also said there were a lot of complaints that budgetary allocation to health and education was too low, attributing it to the fact that much money was being invested in infrastructure development.
“What should happen is that we should try and get private sector to take over some of these infrastructure so that the money can go into education and health.
“By doing that, banks like Bank of infrastructure will come in.
“We are really pushing the idea of, particularly, the Lagos-Ibadan road, that appropriating that project from the budget does not show seriousness.
READ ALSO: Saraki fails to meet President Buhari in London
“This is a road that is very viable; that is centre of the commercial activity and we should see how private sector can participate.
“For example, even if you go by the budgetary allocation on that road, last year was N30 billion, this year, after back and forth, we took it back to N20 billion.
“This was done so that if they don’t find private funding, we will take it up,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that Saraki has debunked certain media reports that a civil servant was sacked for criticizing him.
PAY ATTENTION: Watch more videos on Legit.ng TV
In a statement posted on his social media pages on Friday, July 28, the Senate President said the reports are untrue.
He also said he is unfazed by criticisms, stressing that he learns from constructive criticisms.
Watch this Legit.ng video to see what Nigerians think of the Senate:
Source: Legit.ng