till date. The renewal of the Applicant’s Diplomatic Passport is a recognition of his
status as a former Vice Chairman of the transition council with all the rights to the
benefits provided in The Retirement Benefit Act. Having held the Applicant out as
a former Vice Chairman, a claim of bar due to resignation cannot avail the
Respondent.
42.With regards to the assertion by the Respondent that the Applicant is not a retiree
having taken up another full time employment at the Parliament, the Court is of the
opinion that this argument is neither here nor there. Retirement of a person does
not translate to inactivity or recuse from productive engagement in any chosen
field. Situations abound where retired political appointees continue to engage in
active service in governance, non-governmental activities like charitable causes and
other fields of endeavor including getting elected into parliament as the case is in
most African Countries, European Countries and other jurisdictions all over the
world. The Court therefore holds that the argument of the Respondent is not
tenable and is without any probative value.
43.In all, based on the above analysis and the established practices from other nations,
the Court holds that Applicant’s resignation is within the contemplation of the law
and he therefore remains a former member of the Transitional Council. The Court
will now proceed to determine the next issue, which is;
44. WHETHER IF ISSUE [2] ABOVE IS RESOLVED IN THE AFFIRMATIVE, THE APPLICANT
IS ENTITLED TO HIS CLAIMS.
Having concluded that the Applicant remains a former member of the Transitional
Council, the Court will now determine whether the Applicant is entitled to the claims
provided for in The Retirement Benefit Act viz a viz the various human rights
instruments cited. The Court is not unmindful of the fact that a right might be
guaranteed but it can be derogated from if provided for by law, and if necessary; in
a democratic society.
45. Before proceeding to determine the issue above, it is important at this stage to
quickly make a short diversion to state that the fixed retirement benefit is equally
referred to as pension. The Black’s Law Dictionary, Ninth Edition defines pension as:
“A fixed sum regularly paid to a person or to the person’s beneficiaries by an
employer as a retirement benefit.”
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