FENRAD Urges Otti To Match Infrastructure Gains With Pension, Gratuity Settlement In Abia

The Foundation for Environmental Rights Advocacy and Development, FENRAD, has called on the Governor Alex Otti administration in Abia State to balance its infrastructure drive with concrete action on workers’ welfare, pension and gratuity arrears, and institutional accountability.

In a statement on Monday, August 17, 2026, signed by its Executive Director, Comrade Nelson Nnanna Nwafor, FENRAD acknowledged the visible investments of the Otti government in roads, urban renewal, connectivity and environmental improvement across Abia.

“These interventions are visible and, in several respects, represent important developments that should be acknowledged,” Nwafor said.

However, the group argued that governance should not be measured by physical projects alone.

“A government is ultimately judged not only by the roads it constructs, the cities it cleans or the communities it connects, but also by how it treats workers, pensioners, retirees, vulnerable citizens and public institutions,” the statement said.

“Development must therefore be understood in its broader sense—one that encompasses infrastructure, social protection, institutional accountability, workers’ welfare and human dignity.”

FENRAD noted that pension and gratuity liabilities in Abia did not begin with the current administration, with some obligations dating back more than two decades.

It recognized the government’s verification exercise with the Nigerian Union of Pensioners and its acknowledgment that government is a continuum.

But the group said acknowledgement is not enough. According to reports from the verification exercise, outstanding retirement-related liabilities stand at more than ₦60 billion.

“For thousands of pensioners and retirees, this is not merely a figure in a government document. Behind every naira is a person who worked for the state and expected to receive the benefits attached to that service,” Nwafor stated.

“Many of these citizens are elderly. Some have waited for years. Their plight therefore deserves to be treated as a matter of social justice and human dignity.”

FENRAD drew a distinction between regular payment of current pensions and clearing of historical backlogs, saying both must run side by side.

While commending current payments, the group asked: “What concrete mechanism has been put in place to clear the verified historical backlog, and within what timeframe?”

It urged the state government to publish: the verified liability, number of beneficiaries, amount already paid, amount appropriated for settlement, and projected timeline for completion.

“Such disclosure would not weaken the government. On the contrary, it would strengthen public confidence and demonstrate that the administration has a measurable plan for dealing with an inherited problem,” FENRAD said.

The group stressed that gratuity is more than an accounting entry.

“For a retired civil servant, gratuity may represent the savings of an entire working life. It may be the money required to pay medical bills, support children and grandchildren, maintain a home or survive old age with dignity,” it noted.

FENRAD recalled that Abia has carried gratuity obligations since the early 2000s, including public protests by retirees in 2022.

“Inheritance may explain a liability; it does not extinguish it,” Nwafor said.

FENRAD concluded that Abia needs both roads and welfare.

“Abia needs roads. Abia needs clean cities. Abia needs improved connectivity. Abia needs investment. But Abia also needs a government that can assure its elderly citizens that the state remembers their years of service.”

“Infrastructure is itself a form of governance. But it is only one component of governance. The real measure should therefore be whether physical development and human development are progressing together.”