ABUJA – Senate yesterday, passed a Bill excluding former Military Heads of State and leaders who came to power through undemocratic means from a new remuneration package for former leaders of the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government.

Those to benefit from the package include the Presidents and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the Vice-Presidents, Presidents of Senate, Deputy Presidents of Senate, Speakers of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speakers and Chief Justices of the Federation.

Also in the Bill, “the members of families or deceased former Presidents and Vice Presidents shall be entitled to annual payments as shall be recommended by the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and approved by the National Assembly”.

Furthermore, the remuneration is to cover up-keep of spouses and children of deceased former Presidents and deceased former Vice Presidents “and the education of the children up to the university graduate level or its equivalent.”

Conversely, those excluded from the remuneration, if signed into law, include: retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Maj. Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar and Chief Ernest Shonekan.

Commenting on the Bill, Senate President David Mark noted that “this is to discourage other ways of getting into power through unconstitutional means; the only way recognised by the Constitution is through the ballot box and not through the barrel of the gun”

Presenting the Bill earlier, Chairman, Senate Committee on National Planning, Senator Zaynab Kure (Niger) explained that “the thrust of the Bill is essentially to amend Decree 32 of 1999 and ensure that only democratically elected former Presidents are entitled in the schedule to the bill”.

During the debate, Senators argued that former Military Heads of State cannot be part of the remuneration package because they came to power through means that breached Section 1(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

Senator Olorunimbe Mamora (Lagos East) argued that including ex-military rulers in the package would amount to encouraging truncation of democracy: “we should not be seen to be encouraging anything that will undermine democracy, we should add elected in the clause”, he further submitted.

However, Senate President Mark ruled that the clause as contained in the bill which recognises former Presidents and Heads of State was in line with the Constitution and does not require further emphasis by inclusion of the word: “elected”.