Breaking: Saraki Returns Pension Payment From Kwara

The Kwara state government has said that Senate president Bukola Saraki has returned all the pensions he received from the state.

In a statement signed by Alhaji Sola Isiaka Gold, who is the secretary to the state government, Saraki, a two term governor of the state, returned the monies on his own volition.

Recall that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, had listed Saraki as one of the former governors still receiving emoluments from his state, urging the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to immediately stop the disbursements.

According to the statement, the move by Saraki was considering the morality of the situation in which the pension would put him since he is still a serving Senator.

The statement read: “Dr Saraki, as a two-term Governor, is entitled to pension as stipulated by the third schedule, Paragraph D (i) of the Governor and Deputy Governor ((payment of pension) Law, No. 12 of 2010 of Kwara State.

“The said pension has been duly remitted to his account, like other former Governors’, since he left office but when via a letter dated 20th August 2015 addressed to the state government, Dr Saraki requested that the payment of pension to his account be stopped and the amount already credited to the account be refunded to the Government, the State Government promptly complied.

“The Government not only stopped the payment of the said pension, the amount already paid into Dr. Saraki’s account since he left office was deducted from the money owed to him as well as his other outstanding lawful entitlements.

“In view of the foregoing, it should be noted that neither the Kwara State Government nor Dr. Bukola Saraki violated the state pension law or any other law for that matter. The State Pension Law empowers the State Government to pay pension to former Governors of the State.

“The Kwara State Government will want to reiterate the fact that it was Dr Saraki who on his own volition considered the morality of the situation in which the pension would put him since he is still a serving Senator and chose to abandon his legal rights. We believe he should be commended for decision.

“It is the hope of the Kwara State Government that this clarification will end all the controversy about this issue.”