Otti Unassailable Ahead Of 2027 Polls, Says Abia Patriots As Govt Begins Payment Of 24-Year Pension Arrears

The Abia Patriots has commended the Abia State Government over its decision to begin the structured payment of pension and gratuity arrears dating back to 2001, describing Governor Alex Otti’s record as unassailable ahead of the 2027 elections.

In a statement signed by its Secretary General, Mazi Adindu Madumere, on Sunday, the group said the move is a long-overdue intervention to address obligations that have lingered for more than two decades.

According to the Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, the State Executive Council presided over by Governor Otti approved the commencement of payments after a validation committee established the total liability covering retirees from 2001 to 2025. The government also committed to incorporating future gratuity payments into the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework to ensure sustainability.

Mazi Madumere said with the decision, Governor Otti has shown that governance is not only about infrastructure.

“When the payments are fully made, the administration would have achieved the rare feat of combining road revival with human renewal, restoring dignity to those who laid the foundation of the state,” he said.

The group noted that in just over three years, the Otti administration has touched every segment of the state.

It listed capacity building for youths and transparent recruitment of teachers, investment in smart schools and resolution of the prolonged ABSU-ASUU strike for students, renovation of community health centres and secondary health institutions for the health sector, and regular payment of salaries for civil servants.

“Having delivered visible change in virtually every sector, from markets to schools, from hospitals to pensioners’ bank alerts, the Governor has by deeds and not noise positioned himself unassailably ahead of the forthcoming election,” the statement added.

The Abia Patriots appealed to other governorship aspirants to “honourably step aside”, urging government to ensure full, transparent and technology-driven implementation of the payment plan, with priority for the oldest obligations.

“By remembering the fathers and mothers who laid the foundation, the government has planted a seed whose shade generations yet unborn will enjoy,” the group concluded.