The Law, Litigation and Politics Surrounding Legislators’ Pension in Cross River State, Nigeria

The 1999 Nigerian Constitution, as amended, grants State legislatures the authority to enact laws permitting former Governors and Deputy Governors to receive pensions. The Cross River State House of Assembly exercised this provision by instituting life pensions for former Governors and their deputies, extending it to cover former Acting Governors, Speakers, and Deputy Speakers of the state legislative body. Subsequently, a former Speaker initiated legal proceedings to compel the State to grant him a pension as a former Acting Governor. This led the court to invalidate the sections of the law providing pensions for former Acting Governors, Speakers, and Deputy Speakers. In response, the House of Assembly amended the law to remove the pension provisions and introduced a "special allowance" for former Speakers and Deputy Speakers. This analysis contends that the bill is unconstitutional and contradictory to the constitution because it exceeds the powers of the House of Assembly to determine their own allowances.