Eighty-two-year-old Dr. Mohammed Adamu Fika served as the pioneer Director-General and Clerk Designate to the National Assembly of Nigeria. He also served as the Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) and is currently the Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Council of Retired Clerks and Secretaries of the National Assembly. In this interview with TAIWO ADISA, he speaks about his current struggles to get presiding officers of the National Assembly to inaugurate the National Assembly Pensions Board, following the passage of the National Assembly Service Pensions Act, 2023. Excerpts:

At 82, how do you feel leading the fight to right the wrongs against pensioners of the National Assembly?

Following my appointment as Director-General/Clerk Designate of the National Assembly, I became the first staff of the current National Assembly establishment. So, joining the struggle to right the wrongs being perpetrated against my fellow pensioners of National Assembly is, therefore, a duty. Of the pensioners being wronged, 95 percent of them were recruited by me and I have no choice except to join the struggles, especially because I am also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Council of Retired Clerks and Secretaries (Permanent Secretaries) of the National Assembly.

While in service, did it ever cross your mind that NASS retirees would one day agitate for the payment of their pensions?

People of my generation never thought of retirement and pensions. As young graduates, our determination was to contribute in making Nigeria a great industrial and developed country in the shortest possible time with our oil wealth and leaders, whose words were their bonds. Personally, I only started thinking of pension when as Permanent Secretary Commerce and Tourism, I received an official letter from the then SGF that I had retired ten years earlier, i.e. the day I was appointed Clerk Designate of the National Assembly and should, therefore, proceed on May 1, 1999 to enjoy my well-deserved retirement.

The Council of Retired Clerks and Secretaries and other retired staff of NASS held an emergency meeting recently, after which a communiqué was released, what is the response to that communiqué by the authorities so far?

Yes, the Council of Retired Clerks and Secretaries had an emergency meeting with other retired staff on November 18, 2024, at the end of which, we issued a communiqué and a press release. Thereafter, we broke into four groups to deliver and discuss our resolutions with the President of the Senate, the Right Honourable Speaker, the Senate Leader and the Senate Majority Whip. Our group waited for four hours only to be informed by the personal staff of the legislative leaders that the legislative leaders had all been summoned to the Presidential Villa, whereas that day, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces was in Brazil.

It was revealed that aside from submitting the outcome of the communiqué, some meetings were also held with the leadership of the National Assembly. Is that so and what were the assurances?

No, sir. Apart from submitting the contents of the communique, we have not been able to hold any meeting with any principal leader of the National Assembly so far. And the communique released after the meeting was very straightforward. We requested the leadership of the National Assembly to kindly constitute and inaugurate the National Assembly Service Pensions Board without further delay to save the lives of retired staff who are dying of starvation. We also requested that a team of senior retired staff should directly interface with the leadership of the National Assembly for quick operationalisation of the National Assembly Service Pensions Act,2023; and lastly, the meeting appreciated the leadership of the 10thNational Assembly for making provision in the 2024 Appropriations Act for the take-off of the National Assembly Service Pensions Board.

Almost two years after the passage into law of the National Assembly Pensions Act, you are still waiting for its implementation. How far are the pensioners to the establishment of the Pensions Board now?

If statesmanship and human sympathy are brought to bear on this tragic situation, the Senate President, in consultation with the Right Honourable Speaker, can approve the membership of the National Assembly Pensions Board and it can immediately be inaugurated to commence work. There are more than enough funds to enable the Board to perform its duties, e.g. funds to be returned by the National Pensions Commission (PENCOM), funds appropriated in the 2024 budget and over N5 billion deducted from staff but not remitted to PENCOM.

As an elder statesman, you must have been saddened each time you get report of death of a retiree and we understand that at least 20 members have died while dozen others are in hospitals, due to non-payment of their entitlements. What have you been telling families of such persons?

As patriotic Nigerians, we are pained whenever a former colleague is reported dead due to inability to procure medication. In such cases, we levy the senior retirees heavily, while those barely managing to survive could contribute whatever they could afford. We then meet the cost of funerals and any balances are handed over to the affected family as small support from us. We also do what we can to support those who are bedridden due to lack of funds to seek medication.

Have you, as a body, made representations to President Bola Tinubu and other stakeholders who can help appeal to the leadership of the National Assembly on this matter?

We have not made any representation to the president and other stakeholders because we could never imagine that anybody associated with the National Assembly will ever raise a finger against the first major welfare package the National Assembly has enacted for its staff who have served the National Assembly and the nation very well.

You’ve had the good fortune of leading the National Assembly as CAN and later as Chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC). How would you rate the contributions of the legislature in Nigeria in this Fourth Republic?

Thanks for recalling my active days as a public servant. Since my disengagement from the service, I have been a keen observer of public affairs, especially the National Assembly. Since the 10thNational Assembly was convened by the president, Commander-in-Chief, one is happy and grateful to the Almighty God that this assembly has cooperated and collaborated with the executive arm of government. This is how it should be and we pray that this welcome trend will continue throughout this assembly and in decades ahead for the growth and prosperity of our country.

It’s a pity your pensions are not being paid, but people say that the National Assembly members collect jumbo pay and that it is the NASC that approved such pay. First, is it true you approved the jumbo pay? Secondly, do you feel let down that after approving huge pay for NASS members, they won’t approve pensions for the retirees?

I hear people say that the National Assembly members receive jumbo pay, but it is not true that the National Assembly Service Commission approves the pay and allowance of Senators and members of the House of Representatives. In fact, worldwide, the legislators fix their own pay and allowances. In the case of entitlements of our pensioners, the ninth National Assembly had approved appropriate amount as our pensioners’ entitlement since March 2023, but some officials are trying to sabotage the National Assembly Staff Pensions Act, 2023. Almighty God will not allow them to have their way; since the Act is already a law of the country.

At the start of the Fourth Republic, we used to talk about nascent democracy, looking at where we are now, would you agree we have grown?

I strongly believe that we are still a nascent democracy just as we were at the beginning of the Fourth Republic. I have to assert this because in national elections after every four years, about 90 percent of senators and members of the House of Representatives are not re-elected. This means that with every assembly, most senators and representatives are scrambling to learn about legislation and how to enact good laws for our great country.

What do you see as the main challenges militating against quality performance of the legislature in Nigeria?

The main challenge facing our legislature is that our politics is based on money and we elect those with huge sums of money, but are mostly mediocre or semi-literate, who cannot add value to our legislature. (Nigerian Tribune)