NLC blasts Akpabio for N100m medical retirement bill

The Nigerian Labour Congress, Akwa Ibom State chapter, will on Monday lead a protest to Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly to halt the passage of a bill that seeks to provide N100m medical allowance for former governors and their deputies.



Besides the medical allowance, the bill also seeks to provide pension for life at a rate equivalent to the salary of the incumbent governor or deputy governor respectively to former governors and deputy governors.

The state NLC chairman, Mr. Unyime Usoro, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone on Sunday, said the bill was not only shocking, it showed the level of greed and insensitivity of Nigerian leaders.

He stated that if the House insisted on passing the bill, the NLC would insist on their first paying the outstanding pensions of all the public servants in the state.

He said, “We are mobilising our members for protest to the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly on Monday. We will resist what they are going to do.

“Since 2007, pensions for public servants in Akwa Ibom State have not been harmonised in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic.

“Since that time even with the minimum wage that has just been implemented, the Akwa Ibom State government has not seen the need to bring the pension allowances of these people who worked for 35 years to be in line with the constitution.

“But the government has seen the need to hurriedly put in a bill for the governor who is not in any way financially challenged.

“I am shocked at this level of greed and insensitivity by our leader. I don’t know why he should exhibit this kind of insecurity. For me, it is a kind of phobia.

“If someone has the kind of things he has and then he still believes that anything can happen tomorrow, and so thinks of securing himself against any form of eventuality. What kind of eventuality will make him to do this kind of a thing? I think it is unfortunate.”

Also, a former military administrator of Rivers State and ex-governorship candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Sam Ewang, said the bill was not necessary as it would encourage desperate and incompetent persons to seek for power.

“Rather, my recommendation is that no sitting governor must be protected; corruption must be phased out of Nigeria; and only the prepared, experienced, competent and committed Nigerians should be encouraged to vie for positions and rule the country.

“And I know that we have quite a number of people everywhere that will take leadership as God’s responsibility and come out to rule us,” he said.