Though Governor Godswill Akpabio has requested an amendment to the newly enacted Akwa Ibom State Pensions Law for former governors and deputy governors, the controversial law has raised questions in some quarters on the kind of soft-landing and benefits elected state executives are planning for themselves after they leave their plum positions.

The contentious law provides pension for life at a rate equivalent to the annual basic salary of the incumbent governor and deputy governor. It also provides for a new official car and a utility vehicle once in every four years, a personal aide and provision of adequate security for his person during his lifetime at the expense of the state.

Akpabio, severely criticized in the media over the controversial welfare package, is also at daggers-drawn to replace the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters, Senator Aloysius Etok. Etok declared his readiness to slug it out with Akpabio as he has also dared the governor to compete with him in 2015.

Weekly Trust findings show that apart from Akpabio, all 19 other governors serving their second term with the exception of Mr. Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State, are clearly putting machinery in motion to realise their political ambitions when their tenure expires, a move which may place them in confrontation with the sitting senators or other governors eyeing the same positions especially in the People's Democratic Party (PDP).

While some of the senators who may be affected like Etok have been perfecting their plans to either fight the governors and dare the consequences or defect to other parties to contest against the governors, others have indicated that they could do with a soft landing if offered other positions in their states or 'posted' to represent their states at the federal level.

Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State, who hails from the central zone like Senator Nkechi Nwogu, has already declared interest to replace Nwogu. In her reaction however, the senator said she is interested in occupying the Government House in Umuahia to replace Orji in a swap deal. There is the likelihood of a clash between the two politicians for the senate seat if the PDP does not show signs of giving her the governorship ticket.

Until his defection to the All Progressives' Congress (APC), Governor Murtala Nyako, had always been at loggerheads with the leadership of the PDP in Adamawa State that culminated in open confrontation with former PDP national chairman Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. Nyako was interested in contesting for the presidency against President Goodluck Jonathan. This however, may not be realizable in APC as the presidency may not be zoned to the North-East. He is likely to reconsider going to the senate instead.

Apart from reports that Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State wanted to become governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) even before the appointment of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Yuguda was also reported to be interested in replacing Vice President Namadi Sambo. This appears to be unrealizable now and he may opt to join his colleagues in the upper chamber of the National Assembly to represent Bauchi South if he is able to displace Senator Adamu Ibrahim Gumba, who however, is reported to be enjoying the backing of power brokers in the zone.

In Benue State, Governor Gabriel Suswam and former PDP national chairman, Senator Barnabas Gemade, are said to have parted ways because Suswam, who was in the House of Reps from 1999-2007 before becoming governor, has indicated he will run for the Benue North East senatorial seat. Unless Suswam shelves his senatorial ambition, he is likely to outshine Senator Gemade, who has not been forthcoming on his next line of action.

The situation is no different from that of Cross Rivers State where Governor Liyel Imoke has declared interest to take over the central senatorial zone currently occupied by Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba, who is in his third term and is scheming to return for a fourth.

In the same vein, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has since indicated his intention to run for the southern senatorial zone which will pitch him against Senator James Manager, who is also a third-termer in the red chamber.

Governor Martins Elechi of Ebonyi State and Senator Paulinus Igwe are from the same zone and like his many colleagues, the governor has told Igwe that he will be replacing him in the senate while Igwe is also insisting that they swap positions.

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State though has not shown public interest in going to the senate, he has been linked with being a running mate to a possible northern presidential candidate of the APC.

Governor Sullivan Chime of Enugu State has been engaged in a bitter feud with Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu and with the later accusing the governor of sabotaging his constituency projects as part of a plan to discredit him and scuttle his (Ekweremadu) governorship ambition even when the governor has already made up his mind to replace Ekweremadu in the senate.

Though Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa has not been linked with any senatorial ambition, he is said to be interested in contesting for the PDP presidential ticket if President Jonathan declines to seek a second term. He has also been linked with a plot to replace Vice President Sambo and run with Jonathan in 2015.

Senator Basheer Garba Lado representing Kano central under the platform of the PDP has parted ways with Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso because of the presumed senatorial ambition of the governor and did not decamp with the governor to the APC. He may have to contend with another anointed candidate to contest against his senatorial seat as the governor is jostling for the APC presidential ticket.

On his retirement benefits, the pension package for governor and deputy was conceived during the era of Malam Ibrahim Shekarau in 2007. Tagged 'Pension Rights of Governor and Deputy Governor Law of 2007,' it stipulates that only those who served their complete four-year tenure would enjoy the privileges. Kwankwaso and his deputy, Dr. Abdullahu Umar Ganduje, were however the first beneficiaries having served between 2009 and 2003. The law stipulates that any governor who served his complete four-year tenure would be given the privilege to buy a six-bedroom flat of his choice in any part of the country. The law also states that he or she should be given an office, two staff (one ongrade level 13 and the other on level 8), two utility cars renewable after two years and an annual medical trip abroad.

A former governor will enjoy a monthly allowance equivalent to the salary of the sitting governor. In the pension law, a former deputy governor in the state enjoys similar privileges as pension. The major difference is in the size of house and cadre of staff.

Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema of Katsina State, on his part has been reported to be interested in the presidency. He is known to be a core loyalist of President Jonathan and is banking on his closeness to the president to secure the PDP ticket if Jonathan is not running and the office is zoned to the North by the party. He has also been linked to a move to replace Vice President Sambo. Governor Usman Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi State is also believed to be in the race for the Senate next year thereby pitching him against Senator Isa Galaudu, who represents Kebbi north. Feelers from Kebbi, however, show that the governor may not sail smoothly, as the state PDP Chairman, Mansur Dangaladima (Kebbi Central) may find it difficult to convince the zonal PDP to drop Galaudu for the governor.

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State, while not linked to any senatorial ambition, is believed to be interested in the APC presidential or vice presidential ticket. But the outcry against a Muslim-Muslim ticket may deny him the presidential running mate slot though the presidency of the party has been unofficially zoned to the North. However, the Lagos State Governor and Deputy Governor Pensions Law of 2007 provides one of the most lucrative pensions in the country. This includes, among others, that a former governor is entitled to six new cars every three years and a house in Lagos and another in Abuja. An ex-governor and his family (including wife and children) are equally entitled to free medical treatment.

Governor Mu'azu Babangida Aliyu of Niger State and Senator Dahiru Awaisu Kuta have also been at loggerheads over Aliyu's desire to replace him in the senate. But Kuta recently dismissed the governor's ambition as a joke, saying the senate is not a retirement place for ex-governors. When Aliyu joined the now-defunct new PDP (nPDP), Kuta who chairs the senate committee on federal character and inter-governmental affairs did not go with him, he also said as a founding member of the PDP, nobody would stop him from coming back to the senate.

Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau has reportedly told some loyalists that he wants to 'rest' and would not pursue any political ambition when his second tenure expires next year. His case is different from that of Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi, who is believed to be arranging to swap positions with Senator Magnus Abe if his APC vice presidential ambition fails to materialize. He recently said being an Ikwere himself, he would prefer another ethnic bloc of the state produce the next governor.

The retirement benefits are similar to those of other states in the payment of 100 percent of annual basic salaries of the incumbent governor and deputy as contained in the Rivers State Pensions for Governor and Deputy Governor Law passed in 2012. However, a former governor is entitled to one house "anywhere in Nigeria," three new cars every four years and free medical care for a former governor, deputy and their families.

Already, there is an open fight in Sokoto State between Governor Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko and sitting Senator Ahmed Mohamed Maccido because the governor is rumored to be nursing the ambition to take over the senate seat. Maccido, who chairs the senate appropriations committee, is the only Sokoto senator who did not defect from the PDP to the APC due to the threat to his seat by the governor.

In Taraba State, Governor Danbaba Suntai does not seem to have any senatorial ambition due to his state of health and is expected to be succeeded by his deputy and acting Governor Alhaji Garba Umar, who has indicated interest to contest the seat in 2015. The Senior Special Adviser to Umar on Media and Publicity, Mr. Aaron Artimas, said the focus of the acting governor now is to continue with the execution of the projects started by his boss, Governor Suntai.

Though Governor AbdulFattah Ahmed of Kwara State is in his first term and is likely to seek re-election, the Kwara State Pension Law passed in April 2010 by the then House of Assembly was submitted by former Governor Bukola Saraki and it provides several benefits for an elected governor. Highlights of the bill include payment of pension at the rate equivalent to the annual basic salary of the incumbent governor or deputy governor and other benefits as provided by the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

Under the law, one residential house each is provided for the governor and deputy in any location of their choice in Kwara State, as well as one residential house in the Federal Capital Territory for a governor who served two consecutive terms. The benefits for a former governor also include 30 days annual vacation outside Nigeria with 30 days estacode and travel allowances. An ex-governor is also entitled to three cars and one pilot car and two backup cars to be replaced every three years and free medical treatment for the governor and deputy governor and members of their immediate families.

All the 'retirement laws' passed by the various state houses of assembly provide for detailed security arrangements for former governors and their deputies that include regular and undercover policemen, while some like Kwara also provide for operatives of the Department of State Security Service.

There has always been contention on the severance benefits and retirement packages of retiring governors and commentators and activists have criticized the laws as outrageous and insensitive. An Abuja-based lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, said Governor Akpabio's pension law like that of many of his colleagues, is outrageous. "This is a state in a country where some people live below one dollar (N160) per day and you are proposing such amount for pension, it is outrageous and if they do that it is a violation of our constitutional right and a violation of their oath of office and I urged all Nigerians to stand against it," he said.

The Social and Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) said in a statement by its executive director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, that Nigerians should not be made to subsidize bloated pensions. "The governor obviously views disadvantaged Nigerians and poor pensioners according to (George) Orwell's Animal Farm dictum: 'All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others'," he said. "This so-called legislation means that millions of Nigerians, who continue to suffer from years of pervasive corruption and impunity of perpetrators, will have to fund the massive and unjust pensions."