Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Pierre Antoine
The National Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the Ekiti State Government to immediately calculate and pay all unpaid statutory entitlements owed to former Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Alhaji Dr. Sikiru Tae Lawal, including arrears dating back to October 15, 2010.
The court also awarded N10 million in aggravated and exemplary damages against the state government for what it described as the unlawful withholding of his benefits. In addition, the court ordered post-judgment interest of 10 percent per annum on the total sum until full payment is made.
Justice Emmanuel D. Subilim delivered the judgment after dismissing objections raised by the Ekiti State Government. The suit had listed the Governor of Ekiti State, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, and the state government as defendants.
Lawal served as deputy governor under former Governor Segun Oni until October 2010, when the Court of Appeal nullified the election that brought the administration into office and installed Kayode Fayemi as governor. Since leaving office, Lawal maintained that he had been denied all benefits due to a former deputy governor despite serving in office and not being removed through impeachment.
According to the case presented before the court, Lawal asked for declarations that the refusal to pay his pension, severance allowance, monthly stipends, gratuity, and other benefits under the Ekiti State Grant of Pensions Law 2012, as amended in 2014 and 2015, was unlawful, illegal, unconstitutional, and unjustifiable. He also sought payment of accumulated arrears from October 15, 2010.
The Ekiti State Government argued that because the election of the Oni administration was nullified, Lawal was not legally entitled to the status and benefits of a former deputy governor. State counsel also reportedly denied discrimination and opposed the claims.
However, the court ruled in Lawal’s favour, holding that the continued refusal to pay the benefits due under the law was unlawful. The judge ordered immediate computation and payment of all outstanding sums, including monthly stipends, severance benefits, pensions, and accrued arrears from 2010 to the date of judgment, and continuing thereafter as applicable under the law.
The ruling is a significant legal development in the long-running dispute over post-tenure entitlements for former political office holders in Ekiti State and may shape future interpretation of state pension laws relating to officials whose tenure ended through court judgments rather than impeachment or resignation.
There was no immediate public statement from the Ekiti State Government on whether it would comply with the judgment or file an appeal.
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