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The Kwara State Government has said the State Governors’ Pension Law passed by the state House of Assembly in 2010 has not been repealed.

We had reported that Abdulganiyu Abdulqadir, Press Officer, Local Matters to former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, said the pension law has since been repealed in February 2018 by former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.

But in a statement titled, ‘President Media Advisory on the Kwara State Pension Law for former Governors’, signed by Rafiu Ajakaye, Chief Press Secretary to the incumbent governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, the state government said the pension law has not been repealed at any time.

The statement partly read, “What was done in 2018 was a slight amendment to the law. The amendment was a child of necessity to suspend payment of pension only for former governors/deputy governors who are serving in any public office and getting paid for it.

“This was to disallow double payment from the treasury to the same individuals, as was the case in Kwara State when Dr. Bukola Saraki was in the Nigerian Senate and was at the same time taking humongous pension in the state.”

Ajakaye said Abdulrazaq “will send a bill to the House of Assembly to finally repeal the law next week. This is consistent with his views, right from his days as a candidate, that the meagre resources available to the state are better channelled to tackle poverty and youths unemployment.

“We hope this helps to set the record straight, while the media is urged to always interrogate claims from quarters renowned for constantly misleading the public in public statements and actions over the years.”