…insist Gov. Otti Has Yet To Fulfill Campaign Promises To Pensioners
The Steering Committee of the Abia Pensioners Forum has called on Governor Alex Otti to show compassion and fulfill his campaign promises to clear pension arrears and gratuity owed to retirees in the state.
The Coordinator, Okey Kanu Esq., made the call on Monday in Umuahia during a press briefing.
Flanked by other members including the Secretary, Comrade Emma Onyenyiri, Emmanuel Izundu Chigbu, Gbaruko Victor Okey, Zimiro Nwokocha, and Godfirst Umejiaku, Kanu said 99.9% of pensioners who retired before the inception of the current administration in 2023 are still being owed pension arrears running to over 60 months, depending on the year of retirement.
He explained that what the government paid in March 2024 was arrears for June 2023 to March 2024, and that only half monthly pension was paid during that period.
The Forum also revealed that the last time gratuity was officially paid in the state was in 2002, emphasising that the Governor Alex Otti led government has not fulfilled any of his campaign promises to Abia Pensioners.
Reference To Gov. Otti’s 2018 Open Letter
The group recalled an open letter Governor Otti wrote to former Governor Okezie Ikpeazu in July 2018, published in Daily Post, Sunday Sun and Sunday Vanguard, where he condemned the non-payment of pensions and described it as inhumane.
Quoting from the letter, Kanu said Otti then asked: “Is it not such a provocative tragedy… that the state under your watch received little over 30 billion Naira in bailout fund and Paris Club refunds… and yet could not pay salaries or clear pension arrears?”
The Forum said it was adopting the same letter “verbatim” because the issues raised then are “more relevant today than in 2018.”
Unfulfilled Promises Listed
The pensioners listed unfulfilled promises to include: clearing arrears of pension and gratuity on or before 31st December 2023 and 31st March 2024; clearing gratuity on or before March, April, May and July 2026; and revisiting a purported Memorandum of Agreement on waiver/forfeiture of arrears signed with the Nigeria Union of Pensioners leadership.
Kanu recalled that during Governor Otti’s September 2025 media chat, the Governor was quoted as saying no pensioner is owed arrears. He described the claim as “total falsehood” and said those making it were retirees of 2023 who have no arrears.
In his July 23, 2026 media chat, the Governor said funds for gratuity were “sitting in the bank” but payment would be in phases after reconciliation by the Pensions Board and Ministry of Finance. The Forum described the response as “discouraging and indefinite.”
Calls For Action
The Forum called on government to set up a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to verify claims of payment of arrears. “We are ready. I, Okey Kanu, will be the first to appear before the panel,” Kanu said.
He argued that pension and gratuity are constitutional rights under Section 210 of the 1999 Constitution and a first-line charge, not “gratis from government.”
“Pensioners are dying on a daily basis for lack of money for food and drugs. Ironically, former local government chairmen and councillors who served only two years have been paid their entitlements by this administration,” he said.
“We appeal to Governor Otti to have mercy and show humanity. We urge him to put himself in our position and determine if he will accept the same treatment,” Kanu added.
The Forum said it was formed to bridge the information gap among pensioners following what it described as the failure of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners in the state to effectively represent them.
Kanu added that instead of the state government addressing general issues concerning pensioners, the government is busy engaging a group parading itself as “Concerned Pensioners”, saying the group only cares about its own interest.
Recall that pensioners in Abia and the state government have been at loggerheads over issues of pension arrears. While the government argues that the pensioners signed an MoU waiving part of the pensions, the pensioners insist that such MoU misrepresented their plight as they cannot forfeit what they laboured for while in active service.
Below is a copy of Governor Otti’s letter to the immediate past Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu in 2018 concerning the plights of Pensioners.
