By FLORENCE ONUEGBU
Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos has called for repeal of the Pension Law 2007, which provides for payment of pension and other entitlements to former governors and their deputies.
Sanwo-Olu made the call during the presentation of the 2021 Appropriation Budget at the Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday in Ikeja.
He said that the bill would soon be sent to the Lagos Assembly for legislative approval.
According to him, the abolition of pension and other entitlements for former governors and deputies will reduce the cost of governance.
“Mr Speaker and Honourable Members, in light of keeping the cost of governance low and to signal selflessness in public service, we will be sending a draft executive bill to the House.
“The draft executive bill is imminently for the repeal of the Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007), which provides for payment of pension and other entitlements to former governors and their deputies.
“It is our firm belief that with dwindling revenues and the appurtenant inflationary growth rates, that we need to come up with innovative ways of keeping the costs of governance at a minimum while engendering a spirit of selflessness in public service,” he said.
The governor said that a major achievement in the outgoing fiscal cycle was that the government was able to successfully restructure all existing internal loans from an interest rate of 20 per cent to 12 per cent.
He said that in some cases, the internal loans were restructured to single digit interest rates; resulting in a cumulative cost savings of N12 billion.
He noted that the state’s debt portfolios would also be held as much as possible in naira to reduce foreign currency exposure risk.
“Although revenue collection remains a major challenge, we will continue to enjoin Lagosians to pay their correct taxes, so that we can all enjoy inclusive development, which is a major thrust of this administration.
“On our part, we will assiduously work at improving the tax system through revolutionary reforms that enable easy tax collection and payment,” he said.