A proposed law that would grant lifetime pensions to former Speakers, Deputy Speakers and lawmakers of the Plateau State House of Assembly has ignited fierce backlash, with labour unions and civil society groups threatening to lay siege to the Assembly complex on July 30 unless the bill is withdrawn.
The bill, sponsored by Eli Ankala, representing Rukuba-Irigwe Constituency, scaled second reading during Tuesday’s plenary under Speaker Daniel Nanlong. It proposes creating a Plateau State House of Assembly Pension Board tasked with administering pensions, maintaining beneficiary records and curbing the kind of irregularities that allow ghost pensioners to slip through the cracks. Ankala defended the legislation as a move toward transparency and proper accountability in how retirement benefits are handled for former lawmakers.
That defense did little to quiet the storm that followed. Critics argue the timing could not be worse, with Plateau State grappling with insecurity, unemployment and economic strain that they say should be commanding lawmakers’ full attention instead of new financial perks for political office holders.
The controversy deepened when Minority Leader Dewan Gabriel publicly denied any involvement in sponsoring the bill, despite being listed as a co-sponsor. He insisted he never initiated, endorsed or authorized the legislation, saying his name appeared without his knowledge or consent, and reaffirmed that his own priorities center on transparency and initiatives that genuinely benefit Plateau residents.
Organized labour did not hold back either. NLC State Chairman Eugene Manji drew a sharp contrast between the modest retirement many civil servants receive after decades of service and the lifetime pension a lawmaker could claim after a single term, calling the imbalance unacceptable and vowing resistance if the bill advances.
A coalition of 21 civil society organizations echoed that rejection, raising concerns about how quickly the bill moved through the House without public hearings or input from labour unions, professional bodies or ordinary citizens. The coalition, led by convener Steve Aluko, called for the bill’s contents to be published and subjected to genuine public scrutiny, and urged Governor Caleb Mutfwang to withhold his assent should the legislation reach him unchanged.
Other voices added to the criticism. YIAVHA’s Jacob Pwakim described the bill’s timing as tone-deaf given the state’s struggles to pay retired civil servants a living pension. Professor Chris Kwaja went further, warning that normalizing lifetime pensions for short-serving lawmakers risks nudging governance toward what he called kleptocratic rule, and stressed that citizen pressure remains essential to reversing course.
As opposition builds from multiple directions, attention now turns to whether the Assembly will suspend the bill and open it to public debate, or press ahead despite mounting resistance that shows no signs of fading before the July 30 deadline threatened by labour groups.
