By Okwo Kerry
The Chairman, Cross River State House of Assembly, CRSHA Committee on Rural Development and Public Utilities, Ernest Eki, has thrown his weight behind the Medical Pension Bill, for outgoing members of the House which was hurriedly passed by members.
Hon. Ernest who spoke to CrossRiverWatch recently said, “That medical allowance bill for out gone members of the State House of Assembly is saying 300% of basic salary, the people outside the legislature don’t know how much the legislators earn in a month, it’s just a hundred thousand naira. When you talk of 300% it’s just 300, 000 naira per month and they will take it for just four years”.
Buttressing his point, Eki who represents Boki State constituency 1 added: “When this legislature goes the next one will amend that bill so that they will also take it for another four years, we are not doing it as a permanent something. This people who have left, let us suspend their health for another four years, this other people will continue from there while the current one will stop after four years”.
Arguing that, “It is only in Cross River State among the 36 states across the federation, it’s only in Cross River we don’t have it, I think almost all the other states are enjoying the medical health bill allowances. The bill is saying that the consolidated revenue accruing to the House Of Assembly, that money should come from the House of Assembly revenue from the federation account to the state, so if you are giving the House of Assembly 50 million naira a month they should carve out something from there and give to the out gone members to sustain their medical bills, the money is small money, if you put 300 thousand naira per about 14 of us that are not returning it’s just about 4.2 million naira”.