Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, on Thursday, March 21, 2024, signed the “Abia State Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Repeal Bill of 2024” into…

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State, on Thursday, March 21, 2024, signed the “Abia State Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Repeal Bill of 2024” into law. With the repeal of the “Abia State Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Law Number 4 of 2021”, all former governors and their deputies in the state will henceforth not be paid pension. The pension, which was for life, provided for security, medicals, cooks, stewards, among others, for the former governors and deputies.

Speaking during a retreat for heads of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state, Governor Otti lamented how money belonging to the state was shared as blood tonic by some persons, saying the repeal of the 2021 pension law for former governors and their deputies was a cost-cutting measure and not a political witch-hunt.

Reacting to the development, however, former governors and deputies in the state, including Orji Uzor Kalu, Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu, stated that none of them had been receiving any pension.

One of Kalu’s aides said, “As a former governor of the state, T. A. Orji did not pay him (Kalu) a dime as pension, and Okezie Ikpeazu continued in the same manner.”

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Similarly, Theodore Orji’s liaison officer, Ifeanyi Umere, said the ex-governor had not been receiving pension.

Meanwhile, had the law not been repealed, governors were eligible to receive generous pension benefits, including mansions to be built in locations of their choice, luxury vehicles, domestic servants and security aides. Some states even provide for the monetisation of the benefits which for every beneficiary amount to hundreds of millions of naira.

Reacting to the development, however, former governors and deputies in the state, including Orji Uzor Kalu, Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu, stated that none of them had been receiving any pension.

One of Kalu’s aides said, “As a former governor of the state, T. A. Orji did not pay him (Kalu) a dime as pension, and Okezie Ikpeazu continued in the same manner.”

Similarly, Theodore Orji’s liaison officer, Ifeanyi Umere, said the ex-governor had not been receiving pension.

Meanwhile, had the law not been repealed, governors were eligible to receive generous pension benefits, including mansions to be built in locations of their choice, luxury vehicles, domestic servants and security aides. Some states even provide for the monetisation of the benefits which for every beneficiary amount to hundreds of millions of naira.

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