By Kabir Dan-Katsina, Birnin Kebbi
Kebbi State government has refuted the allegation by the first Ex-Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Musa (Garkuwan Yauri) of being neglected as well as denying him his retirement benefits as former governor of the state, by the present administration of Governor Nasir Idris.
While refuting the allegations at a news briefing held on Tuesday at the Government House in Birnin Kebbi, Commissioner of Information and Culture, Yakubu Ahmed Birnin Kebbi clarified that the ex-governor does not qualify for formal pension and gratuity payments under the applicable legal provisions.
The Commissioner added that the former governor was warmly taken care off and received different forms of assistance which Governor Nasir Idris deliberately chose not to disclose, out of respect for his (former Governor’s) privacy and dignity.
“Governor Idris had personally called the former governor during his governorship aspiration campaign in 2023 in order to seek his blessings, prayers and advice but, unfortunately for the reasons best known to him, the former governor refused to oblige,” the Commissioner rvealed.
“What the law says regarding his pension and gratuity is that, the former governor falls short of the mandatory two-year minimum service requirements for severance and pension benefits under the applicable provisions,” Birnin Kebbi said.
The Commissioner also recalled that the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation And Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in a letter addressed to the then governor and speaker of the state’s assembly in Feb 2010 directed that pension and gratuity for governors and deputy governors be administered in accordance with sections 84(5) and 124(5) of the 1999 constitution.
However, the directive related to the relevant constitutional framework for only those who served between 1999 and 2003, and did not extend to governors or deputy governors who held office between 1999 and 1993 which the 1999 Constitution does not provide for retrospective payment of such benefits to former governors who served before its commencement.
While the Commissioner explained that the former governor held office from January 1992 to November 1993 a period of approximately 22 months, which, according to the law, fell short of the mandatory two-year minimum service requirement for severance and pension benefits under the applicable provisions.
