Otti Assures Deceased Pensioners’ Families of Payment Benefits

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has assured the next-of-kin of deceased pensioners in the state that his administration will pay their outstanding pension and gratuity benefits as part of measures to address the state’s longstanding pension liabilities.

Governor Otti gave the assurance on Thursday during his August edition of the monthly media parley, tagged “Governor Otti Speaks” in Umuahia.

The Governor said the state government had commenced the gradual clearance of outstanding gratuities owed retired workers, adding that the government had recently completed payments to pensioners who retired between 2001 and 2010.

He said the administration was preparing to commence the next phase covering retirees from 2011 to date, subject to available resources.

“We are getting ready to deal with the remaining years from 2011 all the way to the present, based on available resources. So we are taking them gradually.

“Like I had reported earlier, we found that outstanding gratuities were over 60 billion. And we are undertaking to clear those gratuities gradually”, Governor Otti stated.

The Governor, who assured the next-of-kin of deceased pensioners that the government would do the needful, said his administration was putting structures in place to resolve pension-related challenges permanently.

“Just last month, we rolled out a contributory pension scheme for over 36,000 workers in the state.

“So what that means is that the issue of pensions and even gratuity will become seamless, since the contributory pension scheme is such that between the worker and the employer.

“Some funds are set aside on a monthly basis to take care of the pension and gratuity that they forward you”. he stated.

On education, Governor Otti announced that a new substantive Vice-Chancellor would assume office at Abia State University, Uturu, in November 2026, following the expiration of the tenure of the institution’s acting Vice-Chancellor in October.

The Governor said the process for appointing a substantive Vice-Chancellor has commenced, with advertisements already placed for the position.

He also disclosed that the state government was reconstituting the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) to strengthen the management of secondary education across Abia.

Governor Otti said the state government has successfully engaged an additional 4,074 teachers to address staffing gaps identified after the recruitment of 5,394 teachers.

The Governor further announced plans for the official launch of the state’s Citizens’ Engagement Centre, which he said would provide residents with a platform to ask questions, make observations and contribute ideas on government policies and programmes.

He said a dedicated helpline, 0800-0000232, and an email address, contactcenter@abiastate.gov.ng, has been provided for direct communication with the centre.

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