Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to follow the lead of Abia State Governor Alex Otti by promptly complying with a court order mandating the Federal Government to recover pensions received by former governors and their deputies.
In a statement issued on Sunday, SERAP’s deputy director, Kolawole Oluwadare, highlighted Governor Otti’s recent assent to a bill abolishing the payment of pension to ex-governors and their deputies as a positive example.
The call comes in response to a judgment dated November 26, 2019, delivered by Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo, which directed former governors and their deputies to refund pensions previously paid to them.
Justice Oguntoyinbo also issued an order of mandamus instructing the Attorney General to challenge the legality of laws in various states that allow former governors, now serving as senators and ministers, to receive governors’ emoluments while also drawing salaries and allowances from their new positions.
SERAP emphasized that the practice of double emoluments for former governors is unconstitutional and illegal.
The organization called on President Tinubu to promptly obey the court order, citing the failure of former President Muhammadu Buhari to do so.
SERAP warned that failure to comply with the judgment would allow former governors and their deputies, including those currently serving as ministers or members of the National Assembly, to continue evading accountability for their actions.
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