Former President Muhammadu Buhari recently revealed that he relies on rental income from one of his houses in Kaduna State to support his living expenses after serving two terms as Nigeria’s president.
Buhari, who made the comments while speaking at an All Progressives Congress (APC) caucus meeting in Katsina, said Nigeria is a difficult country to govern, but most Nigerians are unaware.
Many Nigerians have expressed doubts over his claim, given the fact that as a retired general, he is entitled to a monthly pension, coupled with the generous life pension provided to former presidents and heads of state.
Buhari served as the military head of state from 1983 to 1985, taking over from Shehu Shagari after the 1983 coup d’état. He also served as president from 2015 to 2023, running on the platform of the APC.
According to a fact-check conducted by the PRNigeria team, showed that in 2016, Buhari stated that he did not receive the pensions due to him as a retired military officer, unlike many of his contemporaries.
Also, the federal government annually allocates funds in the budgets for former leaders. For instance, during his tenure, his administration allocated N7.8 billion for entitlements to former presidents, deputies, and others in 2021.
The 2021 allocation was the second-lowest amount designated for retired top government officials since 2017, when N5.9 billion was budgeted for their gratuities. Of the N7.8 billion allocated in 2021, former heads of state, presidents, and their deputies were set to receive a combined entitlement of N2.3 billion.
Similarly, as stipulated by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC), a former president is entitled to a severance pay of N10.54 million, which is 300per cent of his annual basic salary, while a former vice president is entitled to N9.09 million.
Recently, the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government earmarked a total of N13,805,814,220 for the upkeep of former presidents, vice-presidents, heads of state, Chiefs of General Staff, retired heads of service, permanent secretaries, as well as retired heads of government agencies and parastatals in the 2024 fiscal year.
Is it that Buhari does not receive these entitlements? This issue is something he needs to clarify to Nigerians.
