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Pension Recovery: Ex-governors In Senate Set To Challenge Court Order

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Pension Recovery: Ex-governors In Senate Set To Challenge Court Order

Pension Recovery: Ex-governors In Senate Set To Challenge Court Order
December 20
17:33 2019

A sustained legal battle may be in the offing as ex-governors in the Senate are said to have concluded arrangements to challenge the Court order on the refund of pensions received by them.

The Ex-governors who appeared to be jittery over the court order are said to be determined to overturn the order.

One of the ex-Governors who volunteered to speak on the matter on condition of anonymity, told our reporters that the last had not be heard on the matter.

He insisted that it seemed that there is more to the court order than meet the eye.

He wondered why former governors were being targeted when there are other retired public officers who had served and also received pension.

A Federal High Court in Lagos had ordered the Federal Government to recover pensions collected by former governors now serving as ministers and members of the National Assembly.

The court also directed the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN to challenge the legality of states’ pension laws permitting former governors and other ex-public officials to collect such pensions.

The ex-governor said: “Nobody really wants to talk about the court order on retrieval of paid pensions.

“There is certainly more to it. Why are we being targeted? There are retired military officers and other public servants who were in government and also received pension. Why is it being made to look as if we paid ourselves?

“Some of us have made up our minds to explore further legal alternative to challenge the order. It can’t be left unchallenged because we did not pay ourselves.

He continued: “The law that grants us pension as ex-governors is a valid law of the States. The law as far as I am concerned subsists. Nobody has challenged the law in any state and it would be against the constitution for the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice or any other person for that matter to attempt to tamper or reverse a state law without due process.

“Are we no longer operating a federal system of government?” he asked.

“The Constitution has granted the three tiers of government their specific roles. The AGF cannot afford to breach that section of the grundnorm that grants the State Assembly power to make laws for the state, court order or no court order.

“I think the judgement of the Federal High Court did not take into consideration the fact that the order would violate the principle of federalism as enshrined in the Constitution.

“We are waiting for the AGF to ask for the refund as directed. We shall ask the AGF to also go and collect what ex-members of the armed forces, police and paramilitary agencies who served in public offices after retirement have collected as pensions.”

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Opeyemi

Opeyemi

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