For more than a decade now, December 11 is observed annually as Pensioners’ Day nationwide. The pathetic situation of pensioners this year is not different from previous years’.
However, most disheartening is the news that governors intend to borrow trillions of naira from the pension fund in order to continue with their flamboyant lifestyles. Despite the Paris Club refunds and bailout funds they received from the federal government, there is hardly any state that does not have outstanding arrears of gratuities or pension they are owing their retirees.
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I suspect the governors’ plan is to scuttle the pension fund the same way they did the Sovereign Wealth Fund.
I wish to suggest that any governor who wants to borrow from the fund must have the applications approved by the Debt Management Office. The consent of their citizens must also be sought on the infrastructure they want to undertake with the money. Release of such money should be made directly to the contractor executing the project with guarantees from either the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning or a reputable commercial bank.
Repayment of such loans should be deducted from source.
The governors have no moral justification to dip their hands into such funds. The contributors must also have a say on how their money is being managed.
Abba Dankande
