Life Pension And Immunity For Saraki, Dogara Is Total Madness

Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN); a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Niyi Akintola, and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), have condemned the proposed life pension and immunity for National Assembly leaders.

While SERAP and the Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders described the proposed life pension and immunity for Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara, as self-serving and despicable, Falana called it “insensitive, irrational and immoral.”

Akintola said the call for such incentives for the National Assembly leaders was unreasonable.

Falana and Akintola called on Nigerians to rise against the proposal.

The immunity and life pension for the presiding officers were proposed by some senators at a retreat on constitution review organised by the Senate Ad Hoc Committee on Constitution Review in Lagos on Saturday.

Falana said the proposal at a time many state governments were unable to pay workers’ salaries depicted high level of insensitivity.

The senior advocate added, “The proposals for immunity and life pension for the principal officers of the National Assembly are insensitive, irrational and immoral.

“Indeed, it is the height of insensitivity for legislators to propose life pension for their leaders at a time that workers are owed arrears of salaries in many states of the federation.

“The proposal to confer immunity on legislators is provocative, to say the least. No serious nation can grant immunity to legislators who have been linked with criminal diversion of public funds, forgery and rape.

“We can assure the concerned members of the public that the satanic proposals of the legislators will not succeed. It is pertinent to inform the legislators that the members of the human rights community have resolved to mobilise the Nigerian people to reject both proposals.”

Akintola said, “I don’t think any reasonable person should be demanding immunity for legislators. I don’t know anywhere else it is done. In fact, in some countries, even the President and Vice-President are not immune against corruption. Some Nigerians always want to do things in an absurd way.

“Nigerian public will rise against it. Every right thinking Nigerians should rise against it.”

On the issue of life pension for the lawmakers, the CACOL boss described those asking for life pension for the National Assembly members as treasury looters.