Senior
Advocates of Nigeria, public affairs analysts and pension experts
comment on the collection of double pensions by some serving public
office holders
One could get pensions from two
different sources. If a person works for a public institution, retires
and joins a private organisation and retires, he can get pensions from
both organisations. But if the two places are public institutions, it is
wrong. What the person needs to do is to merge his service so that he
can get a single pension. Most times, this is caused by ignorance. If
one works in two public service institutions, one is supposed to merge
them so that one can receive a single pension.
You would be surprised that the person
would earn more if he merges the two. This is because pension is
determined by the number of years in service. It may not necessarily be a
crime. If somebody collects pension from a state and another from the
Federal Government, there is no conflict. Where conflict may arise is
when he collects pension from the Federal Government and salary from the
same government. One cannot earn two incomes from the same government
at the same time.- • Prof. Itse Sagay (Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption)
I think it is something the Revenue
Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission should sort out. But I
consider it immoral for a public officer to take pensions from two
public sources or collect pension and salary from two public
institutions that are under the control of the Federal Government. That
should be considered as corruption.
Unfortunately, those who benefit from
the system have found their way into the institution that should address
the issue. Some of those people are in the National Assembly. That puts
us in a tight situation. I only hope that Nigerians would one day
confront the National Assembly about the situation.
What the lawmakers are doing is immoral
and evil. I think it would end when Nigerians choose to take back their
country. From what has happened in recent months, I don’t see the
current National Assembly doing what is required to develop the country.
And if we leave the National Assembly alone, I do not see the country
going anywhere.
People argue that one can collect
pensions from state and federal government at the same time. That should
not be. What governors and president, whether serving or former, earn
is fixed by the RMAFC. That is the central body that fixes the salaries
of all public officers.
The salaries of governors, ex-governors,
the President, ex-presidents, state lawmakers, federal lawmakers and
local government chairmen are fixed by the RMAFC. If the RMAFC says that
an ex-governor who is in the Senate cannot earn salary in his current
position because he collects pension as an ex-governor, there is nothing
anybody can do about it. Where we should tackle the problem is at the
RMAFC level.
Unfortunately, the only body that should
oversee the commission is the National Assembly. Since the lawmakers
are the ones indulging in the act, why would they move against what the
commission is doing? My position is that sovereignty resides with the
people and the National Assembly. The National Assembly uses delegated
sovereignty. So, if it refuses to do what the people want, the people
can take back their sovereignty. While the National Assembly oversees
the executive, the people, in turn, could check the National Assembly.
If Nigerians demand that the National Assembly should do the right
thing, the National Assembly does not have a choice. But the challenge
is that the people have decided to sit back and watch. Nobody takes
responsibility by asking the National Assembly to do the right thing.- • Collins Okeke (National Coordinator, Human Rights Law Service)
An individual cannot collect pensions
from two different institutions that are funded by the same government.
Doing so is tantamount to stealing. It is like what many people do
overseas. They register with different local governments to collect
welfare allowances. It is stealing and punishable under the law for
public officers to collect pensions from two sources. It is the highest
level of fraud.
It is also wrong for an ex-governor who
serves in the Senate to collect salaries and pension at the same time.
There are some lawmakers in the National Assembly, who had served as
military administrators and as civilian governors. For such people,
drawing multiple incomes from the Federation Account is wrong. It
constitutes a drain on the public purse and it should not be allowed to
continue because it is unfair to Nigerians.
Public officials who have served in
multiple capacities should not collect salaries and pensions from
multiple sources. Such persons should let go of their former official
incomes and stick to the present one they are receiving, that is, if
they prefer their present incomes to the past. The law should not spare
people who receive salaries and pensions from multiple sources because
it is absolutely criminal. If they prefer their current salaries and
allowances, they should forgo their pensions.- • Pastor Adedeji Adeleye (Executive Director, Independent Advocacy Project)
I believe it is not proper. I have taken
somebody to court over the matter; I hope my opinion does not affect
the court proceeding. I believe it is not proper for an individual to
collect pensions from two different public institutions. If you look at
the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, you would know that it is a
practice that is prohibited.
To avoid this conflict, we should
enforce existing laws. We have laws, but poor enforcement is a
challenge. It is difficult to try a ‘big man’ in Nigeria. Everybody sees
prosecution for corruption as political persecution. Nobody wants to do
the right thing. But we can stop the problem by enforcing existing
laws. –• Rotimi Jacobs (A Senior Advocate of Nigeria)
Well, it depends on the angle one looks
at the issue. Viewed from the principle of natural entitlement, it is
justifiable – considering the fact that both incomes are earned. Take
for instance, a retired permanent secretary who is now a governor or a
senator, such a person could earn incomes from two sources. His pension
is his legitimate pay, coming from years of contributory scheme from his
salaries and government. It is envisaged that after retirement, he
would be too old to engage in any economic activity. So, the money is
earned.
No law prevents an individual from
engaging in another economic activity after retirement if one has the
ability to do so. The retired permanent secretary, in the example given,
could have chosen to be a contractor, or do another business to earn
more incomes. Is it fair to stop the individual’s legitimate pension
just because he is now earning money from his extra effort? That would
be both immoral and illegal. The same thing applies to a scenario where a
retired permanent secretary holds a public office, which has
legally-approved pay package.
But looking at the issue from the point
of sacrifice and statesmanship, one could advise based on morality. In
this case, the public servant involved should let go of one of the
revenue streams to free up funds for other pressing public matters. This
is even more important during an economic meltdown like the one the
nation currently faces. In a situation where many public workers are
owed salaries that run into several months, it is not morally
justifiable for a public servant to earn two streams of income from
government.
The worst scenario has to do with
senators who are former governors. They earn pensions as ex-governors
while being paid regular salaries as senators. This should be looked
into and the appropriate laws should be made to reverse the trend.
Unfortunately, those who are supposed to make such laws are the
beneficiaries of the immoral act.- • Akemokue Lukman (Executive Director, Trade and Investment, Edo State Governor’s Office)
Collecting pensions from two government
offices is not in order. That is what I can say on the issue. But one
has to find out the truth about the allegations against some public
officers before one could make a specific comment. In general terms, I
believe things should not happen that way; it is not a normal order.
As I said earlier, one would be able to make a clear statement on what needs to be done after studying the issues.
The Pension Reform Act 2014 covers
almost everything about pension. There may not be any need for reforms
now. Further reforms may come much later if we have any need for them.
But we do not need them now; the current law is capable of addressing
the current challenges.- • Susan Oranye (Executive Secretary, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria)
(Compiled by Geoff Iyatse)
source: punch
No comments:
Post a Comment