The All Progressives Congress (APC) has refuted allegations by the opposition party in the State concerning the move by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to repeal the pension law of the State in respect of former governors and their deputies.
Seye Oladejo, spokesman of the party in Lagos State, stated that while the opposition would be encouraged as part of the development of democratic culture, deliberate falsehood and outright lies do not represent the quality of minds that the people deserve and shouldn’t be the kind of culture that Nigerian children should imbibe.
Refuting the claim by the opposition that the government had planned to borrow and was asked to repeal the pension law as a condition, Oladejo said, “The claim that Lagos State intends to borrow additional huge sums of money from the Capital Market again, but it must cancel the illegal payments to Governors and Deputies by revoking Ex Governors Pension Law in order for PENCOM to qualify its new borrowing for PFAs’ investments is completely false.”
Oladejo maintained that it was expedient to state that the circular issued by Nigeria Pension Commission in Jan 2020 to Lagos State was basically on queries relating to operational differences between the Pension Reform Act of 2004 and the Lagos State Pension Reform Law 2007 and had nothing to do with pensions to governor’s or their deputies.
He said that Lagosians appreciated the steps taken by the Governor to signal selflessness and personal sacrifice in governance and public service. He stressed that only someone who doesn’t wish Lagos well would disparage the move using falsehood.
While commending the exemplary courage of Sanwo-Olu, the spokesman said that the governor made it clear that it was a move to cut the cost of governance and had shown the sincere political will to re-order the priorities of the government in the face of current realities.
“Since its inception, the Sanwo-Olu administration has focused on cost-saving measures to make funds available for important projects. The deliberate refusal of the governor to acquire official vehicles and the low-priced brands allocated to high ranking state officials are moves in the right direction.” He said.
