Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Abia State Government has cleared the air over the controversy surrounding the payment of pension arrears that accumulated under previous administrations.
Recall that the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, had shortly after Gov. Alex Otti wiped out arrears of pension owed the senior citizens, claimed that they signed the Memorandum of Agreement the body reached with Government, out of ignorance.
According to NUP, pensioners never agreed to forfeit their gratuities contrary to Government’s claims.
Following the claims and counter claims, the State Government has accused NUP of misinforming the public.
Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, who addressed newsmen after the State Executive Council meeting, accused NUP of ingratitude, arguing that instead of appreciating Gov. Alex Otti for clearing the debt accumulated by his predecessors, the leadership of the pensioners, rather chose to blackmail the Governor.
He said: “What they were owed was almost forgotten until the inception of this government. In line with the promises he (Dr. Otti) made during the campaigns and in his compassionate disposition, decided to give a listening ear to pensioners and at the end of the day they got a good deal, when the huge sum of 10 billion Naira was set aside to take care of the arrears they were owed,” Kanu stated .
According to him, the pensioners had wanted the Governor to waive whatever the arrears were and concentrate on paying them full monthly pension regularly.
“They had wanted the Governor to waive whatever they were owed and be paid 100 percent of their monthly pensions. His Excellency said no. He felt for them and decided to pay them the sum of 10 billion Naira as ex-gratia.
“So, the sum of 10 billion Naira was made available for that purpose and they went ahead to collect that money but surprisingly, not too long after these payments, we now started hearing stories that the state government was owing the pensioners some outstanding arrears. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
“They went to the ridiculous extent of saying that they were deceived and you begin to wonder, who deceived them to sign the documents they signed,” Kanu stated.
Prince Kanu said that Governor Otti has maintained the regular payment of the monthly pension as agreed with the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners and emphasised that the government and pensioners have been having good relationship.
“And of course 100 percent monthly pensions have been paid since April last year.
“So, we do believe that the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners in Abia State is not being honest at all. They are being used to blackmail the state government. But, their shenanigans with the opposition is dead on arrival.
“We know that most of the pensioners have served this state very well. They are good people but we believe they have a leadership that does not represent what they collectively stand for. We believe it would be nice for the public to know what the truth is,” Prince Kanu stressed.
Contributing, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Ferdinand Ekeoma, recalled the long and cordial relationship existing between Dr. Otti and the pensioners while he (Dr. Otti) was the opposition leader in Abia state.
“It’s always good to put the records straight. Everybody knows our relationship with pensioners in the state starting from when we are in the opposition. So, we can’t deny suddenly that we never made promises or that we never had any relationship with them.
“We knew they were being owed but nobody imagined it was of this magnitude,” Ekeoma stated.
He said that during discussions with NUP, It was discovered that the government of Alex Otti underestimated the actual amount they were being owed.
“Government estimated around 15 Billon but it turned out to be over 30 billion Naira. Don’t forget that the state government has other commitments including the over 17 billion Naira salary arrears it is paying which was inherited from the former PDP-led government.
“Committee was set up for discussion to have an agreement on how the arrears of pension would be paid, that was what led to the provision of 10 billion Naira,” Ekeoma explained.
He dismissed insinuations that what Governor defrayed was half payment of 9 months arrears. He said that the NUP as a union never worked for its members nor believed in their welfare and expressed displeasure on the attitude of the leadership of NUP.
“The document they signed, they went home with it and it stayed with them for 48 hours, they even made some adjustments and returned and suddenly you (NUP) are claiming that you were deceived.
“When these arrears were paid the Concerned Pensioners went to church for thanksgiving. We know what transpired in the past when some of these so called leaders of Pensioners were being compromised to keep quiet and they allowed it,” Ekeoma stated.
He, however, explained that the financial challenges at the moment are enormous but assured that the Governor would continue to meet up with the financial responsibilities of the state.
Abia targets N120b as IGR in 2025
Meanwhile, the Commissioner has said that strategies had been put in place by the State Government to shore up its Internally Generated Revenues (IGR), and meet the 2025 target of N120 billion.
He disclosed that the State surpassed its 2024 target of N32 billion with additional N7 billion having made a total of N39 billion in IGR, a leap from N17 billion recorded in 2023.
He, therefore, solicited the cooperation of residents in payment of their necessary financial obligations.
“This Government has never collected any fees on waste management because the Governor wanted to first clean up the state before asking people to pay. But now residents will begin to pay their ASEPA bills.”
The Commissioner further disclosed that the State Government, under the Rural Access and Mobility Project, RAMP, programme (a World Bank- assisted project), had awarded contract for the construction of 59-killimeter road cutting across seven Local Government Areas.
This, he said, was aimed at improving the access of rural dwellers to motorable roads for the evacuation of their farm produce and to enhance their economies.
