New
revelations have been made about how the Delta State government cared
for its ex governor who was serving a jail term in the UK.
James Ibori
Investigations have revealed that the Delta State Government paid
former Governor James Ibori N250m while he was in jail in the United
Kingdom between 2012 and 2016.
It will be recalled that Ibori was convicted on February 27 2012,
after pleading guilty to 10 counts of money laundering and conspiracy to
defraud at a Southwark Crown Court, London.
According to The Punch, it was learnt that Ibori, who was accused
of stealing over £250m, was entitled to life pension being a former
governor of the oil-rich state.
The ex-governor, who served between 1999 and 2007, was able to sign
into law the Delta State Governor and Deputy Governor Pension Rights
and Other Benefits Law 2005 which was later amended in 2009.
The law makes provision for an ex-governor to be paid N50m per year among other perks.
Defending the payment of the money to Ibori in 2012, the then
Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chike Ohgeah, said Ibori would
continue to be paid N50m until a court nullified his tenure in office.
Ogeah said this in reaction to an affidavit deposed to by the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which accused the state
government of enriching the ex-governor.
He said, “The truth is that like every other elected governor
who had served the state, Ibori was paid his pension entitlement and
other benefits alongside his deputy under existing law. The law is the
Delta State Governor and Deputy Governor Pension Rights and Other
Benefits Law 2005 and the Delta State Governor and Deputy Governor
Pension Rights and Other Benefits (Amendment) Law 2009.”
Calculations by one of our correspondents showed that for the five
years Ibori spent in the UK prison, he was paid N250m by the state
government.
Delta State is one of the states in the country currently
struggling to pay salaries and which received bailout fund from the
Federal Government.
According to a report on the bailout funds monitoring of states
conducted by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related
Offences Commission, in February 2016, Delta State had N36, 417,217,
601.53 as total debt value accrued from staff salaries and emoluments.
The state was granted N10, 936, 799, 299 as bailout fund from the
Federal Government.
Speaking with The Punch on Saturday, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi
Falana (SAN), said the matter was a structural problem and it would be
unfair to single out Ibori.
Falana explained that several states including those who could not
pay salaries, were paying pensions to ex-governors who had also looted
their state treasuries.
He said, “The matter goes beyond Ibori because he is not the
only ex-governor collecting the pension. The law in Delta State does not
say an ex-governor should stop receiving pay if he is convicted.
“The matter shows the failure of the Nigerian system. I am not
defending Ibori but I don’t think he should be singled out. Pension for
ex-governors should be scrapped completely.”
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government on Saturday said it was legal
for it to honour the laws of the state by paying severance packages and
other entitlements ascribed to former governors and deputies including
Ibori.
The state government said it would be flouting the law if it decided not to pay the former governor.
Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Charles Aniagwu,
Governor Ifeanyi Okowa said on Saturday that if the state government was
owing Ibori his severance package, the government would clear the
backlogs as clearly stipulated by law.
“If Ibori is entitled to pension by law, we will not take it
away from him because that will be breaching the law . Even if he is
owed, it is sure that he deserves the entitlements.’’
He also added that Ibori contributed meaningfully to the
infrastructural development of the state and laid the foundation upon
which successive governments were building on.
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