He said:”Since T. A Orji left office as Governor, he has not
received any penny as pension.
” He transited from Governor to Senate and he made it a
point of morality that he will not, and he didn’t ask for any pension or
question anybody about it because he is not interested in it.”
READ ALSO: NASS: Tinubu seeks more restraint in exercise of
oversight functions
The former Governor who noted that the House of Assembly has
the constitutional powers to review any laws of the state, said he was not part
of the scrapped pension law.
“The House of Assembly has the prerogative to periodically
review the laws of the state. It’s in their powers to do so but nobody should
link Senator Orji with the said pension law because nobody has paid him any
pension after leaving office as Governor.
“Senator Orji has not received any pension as former
Governor, and as a statesman he has not asked for any. He didn’t receive any
pension from Okezie Ikpeazu and he didn’t pay anybody too.”
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Leading the debate on the floor of the House, the Sponsor of
the Bill, argued that if passed into law, it would help to reduce the cost of
governance.
According to him, the humongous amount used in paying the
former Governors and their Deputies, would have been channelled into other
better uses.
He said that it was not fair for the welfare of the majority
of the citizens to be sacrificed on the altar of the comfort of only few
individuals who are already comfortable.
The Labour Party lawmaker, therefore, urged his colleagues
to give the Bill accelerated hearing,
and to consider it for passage.
Other members of the House spoke in favour of the bill, and
later it was passed into law.
Announcing the passage of the bill, the Speaker, Rt. Hon.
Emmanuel Emeruwa, commended his
colleagues for their forthrightness,
understanding and maturity in supporting the passage of the Bill.
The Speaker who said the passage of the bill was in tandem with the yearnings of the majority
of Abians, said the current Assembly would always make people-centric laws.
