Abia 2027: Opah Makes Big Promise to Workers, Pensioners Over Salaries, Gratuities

Abia 2027: Opah Makes Big Promise to Workers, Pensioners Over Salaries, Gratuities

The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress in Abia State, Chief Eric Opah, has pledged to prioritise the welfare of civil servants and pensioners if elected governor in 2027, promising prompt payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities.

Speaking during an interview on The Platform, hosted by Wisdom Thomas and broadcast across several radio and television stations, Opah said workers and retirees would occupy a central place in his administration’s welfare programme.

According to him, the salary system and incentives available to Abia workers would receive serious attention, while pensioners would be treated with dignity.

Opah said payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities should not be treated as discretionary obligations of government but as responsibilities that must be institutionalised.

“Civil servants and pensioners will be treated with dignity,” he said, adding that ensuring prompt payment of their entitlements would be “non-negotiable.”

The APC candidate also promised greater transparency in the management of the state’s finances, saying his administration would make government accounting processes more open to public scrutiny.

He said workers and other residents should be able to understand how public resources are being managed and deployed.

The pledge formed part of Opah’s broader argument during the interview that government should be measured by accountability and the value it creates for citizens. Earlier in the programme, he drew comparisons between governance and his experience in business and global logistics, arguing that public institutions should be held to measurable standards.

Opah said his administration would also seek alternatives to what he described as excessive taxation and unsustainable borrowing, with greater emphasis on public-private partnerships and international business networks.

He said such partnerships would be directed towards infrastructure development, employment creation and economic activities across the local government areas of the state.

During the interview, Opah presented his private-sector experience as one of the foundations of his approach to governance. He said he had worked in global logistics, helped China Southern Airlines establish operations in Nigeria and later built his own logistics business from the ground up.

The candidate maintained that his proposed administration would focus not only on physical infrastructure but also on creating economic conditions that would enable workers, businesses and communities to thrive.

Opah is the candidate declared by the APC following its Abia governorship primary held on May 21, 2026. His emergence was subsequently challenged by fellow aspirant Henry Ikoh, but the state chapter of the APC later publicly maintained that Opah remained its governorship candidate.