By Juliana Katung,
Families of serving Governor, or serving Deputy Governor of Kaduna State in northern Nigeria will receive a lumpsum amount of the gross annual salary of the Governor or the Deputy as death benefit in the event of loss of such officers while in office.
This followed the passage of a bill for a law to amend the pension and gratuity (Governor and Deputy Governor) law 2006 by the Kaduna State House of Assembly on Wednesday, 4th March, 2020.
“In the event of death of an incumbent Governor or Deputy Governor, a lumpsum amount of gross annual salary of the serving Governor or Deputy Governor shall be paid as a death benefit to the family of the deceased as the case may be.”
The law cited as the pension and Gratuity (Governor and Deputy Governor) law, 2020 is towards making provision for death benefit in the event of the death of a Governor or Deputy Governor while in office.
In the existence law 2006, the state governor or his deputy only receive gratuity and pension while living his office and after, but the amended law now includes death benefit in the event of death, while in office.
Speaking with Assembly Correspondents in an interview, shortly after the passage of the bill, Chairman, Ad hoc Committee One, Alhaji Suleiman Ibrahim Dabo said, the key point of the bill was that the death benefit of the Governor or his Deputy respectively should be approved.
According to him, in the structure of leadership in the state, the Governor is the number one citizen, followed by his Deputy.
“Looking at the critical role and responsibilities carried out by these two individuals, it would be unfair to say that in the event of death, which can happen to either of the two while in office, they will just go like that, without anything.
“We believe that, in the principal law there is a problem, because it is a human document and there must be error and the amendment was necessary” he added.
The chairman who is a member representing Zaria City constituency further noted that the amended law is not only for the benefit of the incumbent Governor and his deputy but for the seat itself.
Meanwhile, the House during its plenary session, which was presided by the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Muktar Isa Hazo condoled with the people of the Igabi local government over the attack of his people by bandit recently.
