The Governor of Bayelsa State, Seriake Dickson, has declined assent to the bill seeking pension for current and former lawmakers of the state as hastily proposed and passed by the state House of Assembly last week.
The state Commissioner for Information, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said the governor has already conveyed the decision to withhold assent to the bill in a letter to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly on Monday.
Iworiso-Markson noted that the governor refused to sign the bill into law because it was inconsistent with Section 124 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.
He said the governor was of the view that the state assembly lacked the powers to expand the categories of public servants who should be entitled to pension.
The governor stressed that he was guided in the decision by the principle that government should not be for a selected class of the privileged in the society.
