The leadership of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) Abia State Council has berated the State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, over his claims of clearing all outstanding pensions and gratuities owed to pensioners in the state.
The State Chairman of the Union, Comrade Chukwuemeka Irondi, stated this today during a press conference in Umuahia regarding the true position of the purported clearance of arrears. He said the governor did not clear a kobo of the 45 months of unpaid pension arrears from the previous administration, as presented by the State Council of the Union.
Irondi, accompanied by other executive members of NUP, noted that what the governor cleared were only the arrears for ten months owed between June 2023 and March 2024, which were incurred by his administration. He added that some pensioners have yet to receive their payments as of today.
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He emphasized that the much-discussed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the NUP was a unilateral decision made by the governor based on unfortunate advice received from his aides, led by former Commissioner for Finance Mr. Mike Akpara and Dr. Mrs. Betty Obasi, SSA on Special Duties.
According to him, the Union never discussed gratuities at any point, let alone considered waiving the entitlements of pensioners, including gratuities, in the MOU. He added that no one has the authority to impose the waiving of gratuities for pensioners for any reason.
While appreciating the governor’s outstanding performance in several areas of the state economy, including the regular payment of monthly pensions, the members called for a review of the so-called Memorandum of Agreement based on the strength of Article 7(a) and (b) as written by agents of the State Government.
