The National Assembly has approved a better pension package for past military rulers and others who illegally took over government in Nigeria.

Military heads of government were initially excluded by the Senate from an enhanced pension scheme that was meant to honour past democratic leaders, however, a harmonized report, approved by the Senate that will soon be forwarded to the President for signing into law indicates that the past leaders have been included in the list of those entitled to the new package.

It was however the idea of the House of Representatives that this group of past leaders should be included in the list haven grouped them under the name of heads of the government of the federation in section 4 of the act.

Other former leaders included in the package are: Presidents, Prime Ministers, Vice Presidents, Presidents of the Senate, and Speakers of the House Of Representatives, Chief Justices, Deputy Senate Presidents, and Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives, the only past leader excluded from the scheme are those who were impeached while in office.

The thrust of the bill had earlier been to ensure that only democratically elected former presidents are entitled to benefit from the pension package for former presidents, to discourage other unconstitutional means of getting into power.

In his remarks while passing the Senate version of the bill in March this year, the Senate president, Senator David Mark had said that the only way recognised by the constitution of getting into government is through ballot and not the barrel of a gun.

The Senate President who would also benefit the law expressed his gratitude to his colleagues for passing the bill into law.

The Bill was read for the first time on September 17, 2008.

It scaled Second Reading on May 27 last year, and was referred to the Committee on National Planning, Economic Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (chaired by Zainab Kure) for further action.

In the conference report Kure presented on Wednesday, the Senate Amended Section 84 (1-5) of the Constitution to provide for annual allowances for former Presidents, Vice Presidents, Heads of Government, Prime Minister, Senate Presidents and House of Representatives Speaker and Deputy Speaker.

A proposal to include Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly was rejected.

The Bill stipulates that former Presidents and former Vice Presidents shall "be paid such amount as shall be recommended from time to time by the RMAFC and approved by the National Assembly (NASS) as upkeep allowance in addition to the pension entitlement under the Constitution.

They shall be "entitled to the perquisites of the office as shall be recommended by the RMAFC."

Former Senate Presidents, former Speakers and their Deputies shall be "paid an up keep allowance from time to time as recommended by the RMAFC and approved by the NASS."

They are also entitled to the perquisites of office as recommended from time to time by the RMAFC.

An amendment of Sub-section 2 (1) says: "The members of the families of deceased former Presidents and Vice Presidents shall be entitled to annual payments as shall be recommended by the RMAFC and approved by the (NASS) and in a manner as shall also be prescribed by the (NASS)."

The allowances specified in Sub-section 1 shall be applied for the up keep of the spouse and education of the children of deceased former Presidents and deceased former Vice Presidents up to university graduate level or its equivalent.
Sub-section 3 explains that, "For the avoidance of doubt, the allowance specified in sub-section 1 shall cease upon the death of the last spouse of the office holder."

All the allowances shall be incorporated in the annual budget of the Federal Government which shall make provision for their remuneration.

In the initial amendment done by the Senate, Section 84 (5) restricted payment to only elected former Presidents and Vice Presidents.

During debate on the Bill, Mark (former Communications Minister and military Governor of Niger State), had backed the exclusion of his former military colleagues from benefiting from the package.

"This is to discourage other ways of getting into power through unconstitutional means; the only way recognised by the Constitution is through the ballot box and not through the barrel of the gun," he had argued.

Senate bars Gowon, Buhari, IBB, Shonekan from benefits

Another laudable bills from the Senate.

After months of delay, Senate yesterday finally passed a bill excluding former military Heads of States, and the Head of the Interim National Government (ING) from benefiting from a new remuneration package for former leaders.
The bill excluded Generals Yakubu Gowon, Ibrahim Babangida, Muhammadu Buhari, Abdulsalami Abubakar, late Sani Abacha and Chief Ernest Shonekan from enjoying the new pension package for past leaders.
Senate President, David Mark, a former military officer in a remark that stunned his colleagues, said the exclusion of former military heads of sta
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