The governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has ordered that salaries for government employees and retirees in the state be paid before those holding political office.
This is despite the fact that he has bemoaned the length of time that past state administrations owed pensioners before his administration cleared the backlog of unpaid pensions.
In his Easter address to the people of Abia, Governor Otti expressed his curiosity as to why long-serving state employees who had retired from government service had been refused pensions.
While acknowledging that pension payments should not be a cause for celebration, he clarified that the seniors’ happiness was due to the fact that their debt had been unpaid for an excessive amount of time.
“It is truly unfortunate that these outstanding individuals—pensioners—who worked for the State at the prime of their careers were underpaid for such a long time.
In any case, as I stated in my speech to the Abians soon after my inauguration, our elderly residents will never again have to endure the suffering caused by unpaid benefits.
Since then, I’ve issued orders requiring full pensions to be disbursed by the 28th of every month, which coincides with State government officials’ pay day.
Governor Otti confirmed, “Generally speaking, political office holders will only be paid after our obligations to our senior citizens and civil servants have been fulfilled, in full.”
He emphasized that the welfare of the Abia people was of utmost importance to his administration and thanked the executives and members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners in the State for their faith in his leadership.
Declaring that Abia has emerged as one of the nation’s safest states, he encouraged both locals and tourists to visit and make investments in the state without fear.
He thanked the people of Abia and Christians worldwide on celebrating Easter this year, promising to see no area of the state go undeveloped while serving in office.
[GNN], [DPNG]
