Group condemns controversial Enugu pension bill

3Coal-city Development Initiative (CDI) has condemned a bill before the Enugu state House of Assembly, proposing to place former governors, deputies, and their wives on a huge life pension, ranging from allowances to procurement of status vehicles.
 
In a statement signed by its chairman and head of publicity respectively, Kevin Odum Itodo and Henry Afam, the group noted that the bill, in its totality is an attempt to sign away the people’s commonwealth to political office holders in what looks like a self-serving politically motivated expedition.

“These are people who served the state for 35 years with very paltry remunerations. Governors and their deputies only serve for eight years with humongous benefits and perks of office in addition to unfettered access to the state resources. It then bothers on sheer insensitivity to neglect the former and keep rewarding the latter,” the statement reads.
 
CDI also urged the Enugu State House of Assembly to utilise the mandate given to them to provide the necessary checks and oversight functions over the executive to ensure accountability rather than acting as an extension of the executive arm as well as a rubber-stamp for politically motivated bills.