Abia Begins Payment Of Pension Arrears With N9bn

Abia State commissioner for finance, Mike Akpara has said the administration, last week commenced settling of over a decade pension arrears in the state with the release of N9billion.

Akpara spoke at a press briefing with other aides of the governor, namely information and strategy, Okey Kanu; health, Ngozi Okoronkwo; and adviser on media and publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma in Umuahia, the state capital.

The joint press briefing was sequel to this week’s executive council meeting which was presided over by Governor Alex Otti on Tuesday.

Responding to questions on whether the figure was the entire arrears due to the pensioners, he said it was what the administration arrived at in an agreement with leaders of the pensioners.

“His Excellency did exactly what we agreed. And the agreement is to pay the arrears of pensions and that’s exactly what the government has done and they are happy about that,” he noted.

“Everybody knows that things are hard. So, for a government to even own up and do what others in the past have not done, needs an applause. Some pensioners got up to N8m. So, its not a mean thing.”

Kanu had while enumerating the “takeaways from the meeting,” earlier, said the council resolved to create a help desk in the office of the finance commissioner to entertain complaints arising from the payments.

“Following the recent pension payments to our pensioners, His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti, has ordered that the pensioners be paid on the 28th of every month, just like the civil servants,” he added.

Contributing, the adviser on media and publicity, said the payments were verifiable, adding that the calculations were properly done and the negotiations with the pensioners leaders were without hitches.

Ekeoma further explained that the commissioner for finance and the accountant general of the state were already collating names of pensioners, who are having issues with the payments with a view to settling them.

Speaking on the forthcoming free medical mission in the state by the Association of Nigeria Physicians in the Americas, Okoronkwo said every arrangement had been concluded to make it hitch-free.