Seriake Dickson, the governor of Bayelsa State who had earlier consented to the passing of a bill seeking life pension for members of the state house
Seriake Dickson, the governor of Bayelsa State who had earlier consented to the passing of a bill seeking life pension for members of the state house of assembly, has withdrawn his assent on the controversial bill passed by the house. Commissioner for Information, Mr. Daniel Iworiso-Markson, quoted Dickson as conveying the decision to decline assent to the bill in a letter to the Speaker of the Assembly, Kombowei Benson.
The governor was said to have held consultations with the Assembly members in his country home of Toru-Orua, where he explained his reason for declining assent. Iworiso-Markson quoted the governor as saying that the bill was inconsistent with Section 124 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
Dickson argued that the State Assembly lacked the powers to expand the categories of public servants who should be entitled to pension. He said the state was bedeviled with a lot of challenges following low internally generated revenue base and unstable earnings from the oil economy.
He added that if the life pension bill is allowed to become law, Bayelsa would be the only state out of Nigeria’s 36 states to come up with such legislation. The governor said that he was guided in the decision by the principle that government should not be for a select class of the privileged in the society, and would not discard it over seven years into his administration. He said the lawmakers and indeed the Nigerian populace would attest to the fact that all decisions of his administration were guided by the strong urge to protect the public interest and promote the general good.
