In what many Nigerians will see as a sad development, the 10 poorest states in Nigeria owe local and foreign creditors about N1.18tn.
However, these states have been able to cater well for any governor that completes his term.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) Sokoto, Bayelsa, Gombe, Jigawa, and Plateau were the top five poorest states in 2022.
These states were followed by Yobe, Kebbi, Taraba. Ebonyi, and Zamfara.
These top 10 poorest states had a total of 43.99 million poor people, which was 33.08 per cent of the total population of poor people in Nigeria.
Apart from these high poverty rate, the 10 poorest states also struggled with local and foreign debts. The states had N998bn domestic debt and $386.16m foreign debt
The Jigawa State ‘Former Public Officers Pension and other Benefits Law No. 15 of 2015’ stipulates that a governor who successfully completes his term without impeachment will be entitled to a monthly pension equivalent to the current salary of the current governor, two brand new vehicles to be provided by the state government and to be replaced after every four year, six-bedroom fully furnished house, two personal assistants not below grade level 10, two drivers selected by the governor and to be paid by the state, a fully furnished office in any location of choice and fully paid medical treatment within Nigeria and abroad.
The deputy governor is also to get a monthly pension equivalent to the incumbent’s salary, one assistant not below level eight, one brand new vehicle, a four-bedroom flat, and an office in a location of his choice.
In Sokoto, each former governor, under the Sokoto State Pension Law, gets N200m every four years, while the deputy is entitled to perks amounting to N180m, being monetisation for other entitlements, including domestic aides, residences, and vehicles that can be renewed after every four years.
