Date: 2011-08-18

One man being a governor worked to be paid pension of N1.2b for working for eight years. Whereas, 9,030 pensioners who worked for 35 years each are battling for about four years for N1.68billion. They went through to the Supreme Court to get judgement but the state government won't obey the  orders of the courts.

Pictures, they say don’t lie. The above building under construction was awarded by the administration of former governor Bukola Saraki at N1.2billion (less any upward review) as part of pension for ruling the state for 8 years. Whereas, 9,030 pensioners who served the state for 35 years are still engaged in legal battle to collect their N1.68billion pension arrears owed by the state. Investigations by elendureports.com reveals that the entire contract sum has been paid before the handling over ceremony on May 29, 2011. The rate of construction work and the public knowledge of ownership has continued to generate reactions and provoked lots of questions amongst residents of Ilorin, the state capital.

POSERS:

Some of these questions are:

what happens to those buildings acquired by the former governor around his father’s Iloffa G.R.A. home that were used as Government House at the inception of his administration in 2003? 

What happens to the people who formerly had their buildings on the parcel of land who are still in Court alleging that they were forcefully ejected and buildings willfully demolished without any government notice of acquisition and any compensation?

Why should the construction be hurriedly rushed while the case on the construction site is still in Court?

How much revenue is accruing to the state monthly from the Federation Account?

Is there any retired civil servant who has been able to collect their pension and gratuities in the last 3 years?

Is 8 years in service pensionable? 

DISOBEY COURT ORDERS:

For how long would the state government continue to flagrantly disobey Court orders on the accredited 9,030 pensioners whose pensions were illegally deducted in accordance with the Court of Appeal verdict? It would be recalled that the coalition of opposition partiess in the state, The Kwara State Stakeholders Forum, headed by Dr. Amuda Aluko (Tafida of Ilorin) addressed a press conference at his Ilorin home tagged, “Who will save Kwarans from Governor Bukola Saraki’s Executive bill for a Law to bleed Kwara State to death?” Rejecting the bill, the group described the bill as “self serving, self seeking and selfish”. After critical analysis of the bill as a contrast to the realities in the state, the Forum described the bill as “the classical example and indeed an epitome of what Afro beat King, Fela Anikulapo, of blessed memory, once called AUTHORITY STEALING. It is legalised robbery by other means; aided and abetted by and with the connivance and in complicity with, the state law makers who are supposed to protect our interest and our collective patrimony.” 

PARLIAMENTARY ABETMENT:

This was followed by the state House of Assembly decision to host a public hearing on the Kwara State Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension) Bill 2010; KWHAB.15 on Friday, March 26, 2010. The hearing on the bill aimed at providing for a law to make provisions for pension of Executive Governor and Deputy of Kwara State and other matters connected therewith in accordance with section 124(5) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was co-coordinated by the Finance and Appropriation Committee of the House.

The speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Babatunde Mohammed, had urged, a day to the public hearing, interested members of the public to attend the public hearing alongside their memoranda to be presented in respect of the bill. The speaker refuted the claims that the bill is an executive-sponsored saying it is a private sponsored one. According to him, “the bill was sponsored by the majority leader of the House, Hon. Ishola Baloun Fulani (Ilorin South constituency) and supported by three other members of the House, Hon. Prince Rasaq Taiwo (Odogun constituency), Hon. Dauda Taoheed (Patigi constituency), and Hon. Babatunde Umar (Ilorin East constituency). He added that a similar bill has been passed into law in Lagos, Borno, Gombe and Delta states.

On the criticism of the bill by the opposition that all past civilian executives from the state are excluded while governor Bukola Saraki will be the only beneficiary, he said that, that was why members of the public are implored to attend with their memoranda suggesting their input into the bill. 

PARLIAMENT OF LIARS:

To show the House’s lies, how come their decision tallies in large measure with governor Saraki’s letter to the house with about nine amendments to the bill? The former chief of staff to the governor, Dr Ali Ahmad, signed the letter, which was dated April 12th, 2010.

The chief of staff had stated thus: “I am to convey to you the following which represents the view of His Excellency on the said bill; that entitlements under the law should be extended to all democratically elected governors and deputies of the state since 1967 (as opined by the NBA), that the annual basic salary of the governor and deputy governor should be reduced (as posited by NBA) to 50% to annual basic salary of the incumbent governor and deputy governor. “On a governor or deputy who served only one term provision of transportation should be limited to cars, rather than local transport expenses with one car and one security car. One administrative officer and one personal secretary. That the idea of provision of a residential house in the federal capital territory should be discarded (as opined by NBA). The chief administrative officer, personal secretary and protocol officer of the governor should rather be two, two and one respectively. 

DEDUCTION OF PENSIONERS' DUES:

It would also be recalled that the refusal of the state government to pay pensioners that retired after 35 years of service 50% of their entitlements made them recourse to a legal battle. Thus, Alhaji (Hon) Ishola Lawal, Prince Ayobamidele Ajibola, Usman Kasim , Joseph Kolawole, Immam Gbagba and Marriam Akanbi for themselves and on  behalf of 9,024 Kwara State accredited pensioners entitled to N1.68 billion withheld, pensioners  and gratuities had in a suit number Kw/147/08 of September 2, 2008 dragged both the state Attorney General and governor Saraki before an Ilorin High court that the defendants or any of their agents or assigns cannot and should not validly withhold or alter their pensions and gratuities to their disadvantage.

In the 55- page originating summon filed by their counsel, Barrister Deji Gbadeyan (mni), the pensioners sought the declaration of the trial Judge, Justice E.B. Mohammmed that unilateral stoppage, non-payment and deduction of 50% of Kwara state 9,030 accredited pensioners totaling N1.68 billion of pensions and gratuities arrears contravened section 210 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and section 10 of Kwara state pensions and gratuities Law of 1994.

The pensioners also sought the order of the High Court to compel payment of the N1.68 billion being withheld by the state government as well as court injunction restraining the defendants and or their agents from further act of withholding, deducting or stoppage of their payments. Counsel to both parties adopted their written addresses March 3, 2009 while judgment was thereafter  fixed for March 31st, 2009. On the appointed date however, judgment was not  ready and new date was fixed for  April 29, 2009 and subsequently May 19, 2009, which was not to be again. Not minding the delay, the pensioners turned up in court on each adjourned dates for judgment to be delivered until the adjournment date of May 27, 2009. When both parties turned up on May 27, 2009 for judgment to be delivered, the litigants got another adjournment date of July 7, 2009 to hear the final pronouncement of Justice E. B. Mohammed on the case. Irked by the seemingly endless adjournment for the judgment to be delivered, the pensioners through their counsel, petitioned the trail judge, Justice E. B. Mohammed. In their petition against what they considered as delayed Justice, they wrote in part, "considering the fact that your Lordship's judgment must be in compliance with the dictate of the constitution, be delivered within three months, of adoption of final addresses by counsel... surprisingly, we were served with a notice of adjournment of this matter to the 7th July, 2009, a time outside the three months constitutional provisions".

The pensioners furthered pointed out in their petition the grave constitutional implications of his failing to deliver judgment within three months after parties had adopted their final addresses in the matter. They thus stated, "we know that your Lordship gave us 7th July 2009 date arising from an oversight of the constitutional provisions which made it mandatory that the judgment shall be delivered within three months of the adoption of the final addresses". They further craved the indulgence of Hon Justice E. B. Mohammed to fix a date between May 29 and June 3, 2009 for the delivery of the judgment in respect of the matter".  They opined that anything short of that will amount to miscarriage of justice arising from constitutional violation. 

JUDICIAL TRAVAILS:

At this stage the pensioners' legal battle to get back their N1.68 billion arrears allegedly withheld by the state government and said to had been allegedly contributed to the state development has been struck out   on ground that the six of them standing as claimants in the case can not represent and stand for the entire 9,030 strong pensioners affected in the matter. Not satisfied with the High Court ruling, the pensioners have appealed to the Court of Appeal. The consequence of the pensioners protest made the trail Judge ruled on June 1, 2009 striking out their case on grounds stated above but later made subject of their appeal before the Court of Appeal, Ilorin division . The five grounds of appeal filed on June 8, 2009, by their counsel Barrister Deji Gbedeyan, the pensioners faulted  the decisions of the High Court to have thrown out their case on grounds that only six of them can not represent the whole 9,024 members concerned in the matter.

The pensioners eventually won their appeal at the Court of Appeal, Ilorin division.Delivering judgment to this effect, Hon. Justice Sotoye Denton-West at the Court of Appeal, Ilorin division ordered that the N1.68billion representing 50% of pensions deducted from the arrears of 9,030 pensioners should be paid back to them within six months from the date of the judgment.

The 40-page judgment, which makes reference to other climes where retirees are specially catered for, upheld the sanctity of section 210 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as well as the Pension Laws of Kwara State. Consequent upon the judgment of the Court of Appeal on 30th June, 2010 against the Kwara state government over the confiscation of pensioner’s N 1.68b gratuities and pension arrears owned them, the state government had approached the court for permission to appeal the decision. The state government took the permission of the appellate court to appeal the judgment at the Supreme Court but failed to file the notice of Appeal on schedule as stipulated by the law.

In another application, Deji  Gbadeyan, judgment creditor applicant said “we pray the court to grant the application and order to be issue against any of the account of the Kwara state government maintained by any of the judgment debtors or by all of them with garnishee attached to satisfy the judgment debt of N1.68b being the sum awarded by this court against the judgment debtor.” He also prayed to the court an order compelling the garnishee to effect the payment of 10% interest payable in the judgment sum. He added that the post interest award upon judgment sought for from the court was even contained in order 23 rules 8 of Kwara state law procedure rule. In his ruling, Justice Tijani Abdullahi, presiding justice of the panel of three justices fixed the judgment for Friday, Dec 10. The order read out by the presiding judge, Justice Tijani Abdullahi, was upon the application filed by the pensioners in the state to enforce the judgment of Appeal Court of June 30 in favour of the pensioners in the state.

The court, however, reviewed the application and ordered against the state government account or accounts to the sum of N1.68b. On the second application which urged the court to compel the garnishee to effect the payment of 10% interest payable in the judgment sum, the court suspended the order till when banks appear before it to give details of the government account. Speaking with newsmen after the verdict, Gbadeyan commended the judiciary for its boldness, saying that the judgment was well delivered and encouraging. He said: “the court didn’t garnishee all government accounts to allow government attend to other responsibilities. Wherever, they have N1.68b, they should not spend it, because it’s attached. According to him, the Court did that because it is aware of government’s responsibilities. Government is to pay salaries and meet some other obligations too.

That is why the court has done that. “Ordinarily, the essence of garnishee is to completely foreclose the operation of that accounts”, he added This further raised the hope of thousands of pensioners getting their gratuities and pensions arrear owed by the Kwara State Government. Meanwhile, in a swift reaction to the judgment, the state government said that the order was an abuse of court process and granted in error.

The state Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General then, Dr Hammad Ali, told newsmen that the state government has already challenged the decision of the Appeal court at the Supreme Court. “We have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the judgment of the lower court. It is an abuse of court process.” Ali pointed out that the garnishee order was a temporary, saying  that the state has decided to challenge the order by Monday next week.

According to him, the government reached a gentleman agreement with the officials of the pensioners to pay certain amount owed them before the present administration came on board. Meanwhile, at the Appeal Court sitting at Ilorin on June 29, 2011, the battle for the enforcement of the Court resurfaced as counsel to the state government, Mrs Iwalola Bello of Rabana chambers asked for the leave of Court to set aside its judgment. Reminded that the application has earlier been struck out by the Court as well as the Supreme Court, she argued further that that the Supreme Court paper might be fake, the trial judge showed her that the Supreme Court judgment paper is a Certified True Copy. In the copy of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria holden at Abuja on Wednesday, the 2nd day of March, 2011 before their Lordships: Aloma Mariam Mukhtar (JSC), Walter Samuel Nkano Onnoghen (JSC), Francis Fedode Tabai (JSC), Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad (JSC), Bode Rhodes-Vivour (JSC), made available to elendureports.com at Ilorin, the ruling delivered by A.M. Mukhtar, JSC,CON, reads, “Application is incompetent, as the prayers are not complete. The application is struck out.” With this development, Justice Chima Nweze,JCA has adjourned the case of Kwara pensioners battle for garnishee to collect their remaining pension to September 27, 2011.