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By Amos Okioma, Yenagoa
The speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Friday Kombowei Benson on Wednesday said the legislators were going to revisit the life pension bill at the appropriate time.
The legislators had on April 24, 2019 hurriedly passed a bill sponsored by the leader of the House, Hon Peter Akpe, proposing life pension for all the members with the speaker earning N500, 000, the deputy speaker N300, 000 and other members earning N100, 000 each. But the state governor, Henry Seriake Dickson, stepped down the bill after much pressure.
The speaker Wednesday said that they were not angry with the stepping down of the life pension bill by Governor Dickson.
He said “We have passed more than 100 bills and if only one is stepped down, there should be no cause for being angry. It is just one out of the lot. And it is not something anybody should cry over.”
Declaring that they had not gone into hiding as was speculated by some persons, Kombowei who had been absent from public functions since he lost election to the House of Representatives, said for the interest of the government, once a boss man has said something he wouldn’t want to argue over what has been said for now.
He said: “If I want to talk about that bill, it is the ignorance of the people that is prevalent. Elsewhere in the US and UK, it is has been on. Just in 2018, India passed the parliamentary pension act.
“In so many countries, it is in use. It is only in Nigeria that people are kicking against it. Since 1903, pension for parliamentary members had been in use. Go do your research.
“We will visit that issue and give you the true picture. It is not something we should be arguing over. I don’t want to argue over what has happened, but I’m just telling you that there is a substance in the burner that all of you are trying to attack and argue over.
“If you make your research, you will know that it is not out of place for parliamentarians to have pension.
