Human rights champion, Femi Falana (SAN), a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Niyi Akintola, and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have castigated the proposed life pension and immunity for National Assembly leaders.
SERAP sees the proposed life pension and immunity for Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, as self-serving and despicable. And Falana labelled it “insensitive, irrational and immoral.”
Akintola said the call for such bonus for the National Assembly leaders was unreasonable.
Falana and Akintola called on Nigerians to stand up against the proposal.
The immunity and life pension for the principal officers were proposed by senators at a retreat on constitution review organised by the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review in Lagos on Saturday.
Falana said such an idea at a time many state governments were unable to pay workers’ salaries depicted high level of insensitivity.
“The proposals for immunity and life pension for the principal officers of the National Assembly are insensitive, irrational and immoral.
“Indeed, it is the height of insensitivity for legislators to propose life pension for their leaders at a time that workers are owed arrears of salaries in many states of the federation.
“The proposal to confer immunity on legislators is provocative, to say the least. No serious nation can grant immunity to legislators who have been linked with criminal diversion of public funds, forgery and rape.
“We can assure the concerned members of the public that the satanic proposals of the legislators will not succeed. It is pertinent to inform the legislators that the members of the human rights community have resolved to mobilise the Nigerian people to reject both proposals.”
Akintola added, “I don’t think any reasonable person should be demanding immunity for legislators. I don’t know anywhere else it is done. In fact, in some countries, even the President and Vice-President are not immune against corruption. Some Nigerians always want to do things in an absurd way.
“Nigerian public will rise against it. Every right thinking Nigerians should rise against it.”
Akintola instead recommended “regulated pension without any allowance but just the basic salary” for the presiding officers that had spent a minimum of three terms of 12 years in the National Assembly.
SERAP say the proposals were gross injustice and double jeopardy for millions of Nigerian pensioners, who are denied the fruit of their labour at their old age.
In a statement on Sunday SERAP said, the proposal “is the calculated use of legislative powers to alter the 1999 Constitution in their favour so that they can enjoy life benefits at the expense of millions of economically and socially-disadvantaged Nigerians who voted them into office.
“Granting senators and members of the House of Representatives immunity and life pension would neither enhance governance, accountability nor contribute to the betterment of Nigerians.”
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