The Enugu State House of Assembly has stepped down the controversial life pension bill for the former governors and the deputy governors in Enugu state.
The stepping down of the bill at the plenary in Enugu on Tuesday was to enable the seventh assembly had a critical look at the legislation in order to come up with practical solutions and inadequacies noticed in the bill.
The speaker of the assembly, Chief Edward Ubosi, said the bill was not the making of the seventh assembly but had existed since 2007, adding that the 1999 constitution as amended gave backing for such legislation.
Ubosi said the stepping down of the bill would help his colleagues to thoroughly go through the bill to enable them delete, as well as add necessary section to the bill.
According to the speaker, the public should have allowed them to study the bill, which just passed through the first reading last week Thursday.
He cited that the former governors serving a senator would not benefit from the pension scheme, while the spouse of the former governors would not benefit from the pension since the constitution does not recognise their spouses.
Earlier, the Leader of the Assembly, Mr. Ikechukwu Ezeugwu, expressed shock at the level of protest that followed the presentation of the bill, which he said was not necessary.
The Leader said that public cannot dictate nor teach the members how to do their job of enacting laws for the growth and development of the state, warning them to mind their utterances.
Ezeugwu, however, noted that the assembly would be guided by the opinions of their constituents in consideration of the bill, disclosing that they would hold a public hearing to allow the public make their inputs.
He maintain that the seventh assembly are not rubber-stamped, stressing they were not elected by their constituency to come and collect salaries and other allowances as legislators, without making laws that would better the lots of Enugu state.
