Abia State Governor Alex Otti says his government will begin the gradual payment of verified gratuity and pension arrears owed since 2001.
Otti made this known during his monthly media chat with reporters at the Government House in Umuahia on Friday night. He said the government had reviewed all pending claims and worked with the pension union to confirm the records before taking any decision.
He said, “The committee that we set up between the national body of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners and members of my administration has just handed in the report. It is disheartening that pensions have remained outstanding since 2001, and the total verified outstanding pensions is in excess of N60 billion.”
Otti said the arrears had piled up for more than 20 years and must be addressed.
He said, “Government is continuous, and whatever you are handed over, you deal with it. If it is assets, if it is liability, you pick all of them. We are unafraid to work out a solution.”
He assured pensioners that the payments would be phased and handled responsibly.
He said, “One thing I would like to assure our pensioners is that their gratuity will be paid gradually.”
The governor added that workers’ salaries were up to date and that staff welfare remained a priority.
He also spoke on a recent salary glitch affecting newly recruited teachers. He said, “I have instructed everyone involved that they cannot have a weekend until every affected teacher is paid. By the end of Sunday, all the people who are affected will receive their salaries.”
Otti said the recruitment portal for 4,000 teachers had been reopened, attracting 27,980 applications in two weeks.
He said the government would follow the same transparent process used in the first round of recruitment. “You can go home and sleep knowing fully well that if you qualify, you will be taken, and if you don’t qualify, no matter who you know, you will not be taken,” he said.
On the hiring of medical workers, Otti said the process was almost complete, with some applicants coming from outside Nigeria. He also noted that Abia had been ranked the most prepared state for medical emergencies by SBM Intelligence.
He added that the state topped the Kevlin Index for intra-city transport affordability. “While a trip costs about N542 in Abia, the state that came last costs N1,399,” he said.
Otti said the newly acquired electric buses would be deployed before the end of the year.
He also said road projects across the state had resumed after the rainy season, with contractors asked to speed up work.
The governor reported steady progress in land administration, noting that Abia had issued 30,562 Certificates of Occupancy in two-and-a-half years.
He said, “Two years ago, we introduced the C-of-O-in-30-days policy. As of yesterday, we have issued about 30,562, while some states have not achieved this number in eight years.”
On revenue, Otti said debt recovery was now being enforced strictly. He said, “We don’t look at faces; we look at numbers. Anyone who is owing will be visited by the Harmonised Task Force after due process, including a court order.”
Otti said the government had continued renovating schools and improving their security. He announced that 24 courses at the Abia State College of Education (Technical) and Architecture had regained accreditation.
He also said development work was ongoing at the Abia State University and Dr Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, where students produce waste buckets used by the state’s environmental agency.
He noted improvements in power supply, new streetlights, and better infrastructure.
Otti said the state had upgraded the NYSC camp in Bende by renovating roads, water facilities, and streetlights, and also increased corps members’ monthly allowances from N4,000 to between N20,000 and N50,000.
The governor also said the state was supporting the Nigerian Correctional Service with new fencing and a larger holding centre to ease congestion.
He said plans to pardon minor offenders were delayed because none of the 1,900 inmates fell under that category. He added that he had asked the Zonal Coordinator to review the records again.
“This is the Abia we envisioned,” he said.
