The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has reacted to the proposed life pension and immunity for the principal officers of the National Assembly.

The NLC described the proposal as a product of greed and ego on the part of the senators.

The President of the NLC, Ayuba Wabba, in a statement on Tuesday, said those behind the bill took a leaf out of the immoral, bad and illegal model put in place by state governors which could not be sustained.

Wabba said only those who have served the country for 35 years are due for pension as he lamented that politicians misconstrued the idea of pension to award gargantuan severance benefits to themselves after their tenures in office.

“We are convinced, nothing but ego and greed are the over-riding interest for wanting to put the leadership of the legislature on life pension.”

“What the governors have done is unrealistic and immoral and rather than ensure the right thing is done, some senators have elected to set up for themselves a model that is at once bad, immoral, illegal and unsustainable.”

“The concept of pension derives from 35 years of meritorious service. However, politicians in time, subverted this time-honoured practice by awarding themselves generous severance packages after four years in office.”

“These packages not only make a mockery of what public servants take, the beneficiaries are paid up front while the average public service pensioner dies on the verification queue.”

“The height of this infamy and greed was when exiting governors literally coerced or seduced states’ Houses of Assembly into writing into “Law” their severance packages which take a sizeable percentage of the state’s budget.”

Wabba reminded the politicians that the purpose of being in power is service to Nigerians and not pilfering of the nation’s coffers.

He also said the NLC expects the Senate “to outlaw the criminal pensions for ex-governors and any other undeserving retiree through an amendment of the Constitution.”

Adebayo Emuleomo