A former Governor of Ogun State and now Senator representing Ogun East, Gbenga Daniel, has written to Governor Dapo Abiodun to suspend the payment of his monthly pension.
Daniel in a letter dated June 14, stated that the 10th National Assembly was inaugurated on June 13 and that it would not be right for him to be receiving double emoluments after his inauguration as a member of the senate.
Daniel said in the letter, a copy of which is in possession of The Point, “I write for the suspension of my monthly pension/allowance of N676, 376, 95k (gross), being paid as a former executive governor of Ogun State.
“The request is in compliance with my conscience, moral principle and ethical code against double emoluments that a serving senator of the Federal Republic, who hitherto was a former governor of Ogun State, shall not be entitled to the payment of pension and allowance from such state.
“It is pertinent to also have it on record that since I left office in 2011, I have not benefited from any welfare packages be it medical, furniture, transportation etc.”
Daniel, a former governor of Ogun State, had won the Ogun East Senatorial election in the state on February 25 with 115,147 votes.
Some stakeholders have advocated the repeal of jumbo allowance for ex-governors, their deputies and other categories of workers in the country.
They argued that the measure was imperative towards keeping the costs of governance low and to promote selflessness in public service.
The stakeholders said it was wrong for some former governors, who have become ministers and senators, to be benefiting from the pension laws in their respective states, while simultaneously receiving salaries and allowances provided by their current offices in contravention of the Code of Conduct Act.
They added that the repeal of the jumbo allowance for ex-governors is consistent with the current economic situation of the country.
