Bayelsa lawmakers life pension: Outrage as Dickson is set to sign Bill

A crisis is brewing in Bayelsa State over a bill passed by the House of Assembly approving life pension for all past and current members of the legislature.

It was learnt that stakeholders in the state, including civil society organisations and political parties are preparing to protest.

The House of Assembly had triggered anger last Wednesday when it hurriedly passed the bill sponsored by the Leader of the House, Peter Akpe.

The bill approved N500, 000 post-service monthly pension to a speaker of the assembly, while a deputy speaker will receive N200, 000 and a member N100, 000 .

TheGuardian reports that the swift passage of the bill by the lawmakers without conducting any public hearing angered most indigenes, who accused Governor Seriake Dickson of being the person behind the bill.

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They perceive Akpe as a very close ally to the governor, having been a leader of the House. As such, Akpe is said to have sponsored most of the executive bills in the House.

A source at the Government House said the governor may assent to the bill very soon, not minding the protest from the people of the state.

According to the source, Governor Dickson may have been the one who sponsored the bill to assuage the bitter feelings of some party members, including the current Speaker, Benson Konbewie, and Peter Akpe, who lost out in the last election.

While the speaker lost the House of Representatives seat to the All Progressives Congress (APC’s) Preye Oseke for the Southern Ijaw constituency, Akpe lost in the primaries of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and therefore will not be coming back to the House.

The Guardian learnt that to make matter worse, the Government House has been silent over the controversy trailing the passage of the bill, making observers to believe that the governor may sign it soon.

The source said the governor and principal officers of the House had several closed-door meetings before and after the passage of the bill, fueling speculation that the bill is as good as a ‘goal’.