The Benue State House of Assembly has repealed the law that provided maintenance for former elected governors and their deputies.
This law was originally passed and signed by former Governor Samuel Ortom in May 2023, near the end of his administration.
The bill to repeal the law was presented on Monday by Douglas Akya, Chairman of the House Standing Committee on Appointments, Public Service, and Pension Matters, representing Makurdi South Constituency.
Akya stated that the law was not in the best interest of the state, which has limited resources to address other pressing needs.
Some other lawmakers, such as Samuel Agada of Ogbadibo Constituency and Alfred Emberga of Makurdi North Constituency, noted that the state’s limited resources make it impractical to spend excessively on former governors and their deputies, given the significant infrastructure gaps and debt burden.
There had been public outcry since the bill was passed by the Ortom administration, particularly from the opposition party at the time, which later won the governorship election.
Many had urged Governor Hyacinth Alia to repeal the law upon taking office, but it took the lawmakers a year to repeal the pension law.
Additionally, during Monday’s plenary, the legislators passed a bill to prohibit the harassment and extortion of money from investors, developers, and businessmen, commonly known as ‘marching ground’.
Chairman of House standing committee on Lands, Survey and Solid Minerals, Elias Audu who led debate, said when passed, the law would address the excesses of miscreants who go about extorting land from developers and residents.