Otti signs law stopping ex-governors, deputy govs pension

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, on Thursday, signed the Abia State of Nigeria Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Repeal Law of 2024, which was recently passed by the state House of Assembly on Tuesday.

Speaking after assenting to the bill, Otti thanked members of the state House of Assembly for “expeditiously passing the Bill,” assuring the House of the maximum support of his administration.

Otti expressed his belief from the onset that his government was not going to continue with the practice of paying pensions to former governors and deputy governors in the state as the money would have been better used in offsetting the backlog of pensions owed Abia retired workers since 2014.

He said, “I want to make a few things clear, one that even before we came on board, a lot of people who had followed our views understand that we were not going to continue with the practice of paying pensions and allowances to this set of former government officials.

“A lot of people had confronted me to remind me that very soon, I will also be a former governor and I agree completely.”

He stressed that government is not about self-interest, pointing out that he believes that stopping the pensions for governors and deputy governors was the right step to take as it is all about good governance and stewardship.

The governor added, “So it’s all about good governance. It’s all about stewardship to our people, and I strongly believe that any leader who believes that leadership is a business has lost his way.

“As far as I am concerned, leadership is stewardship, and if you now want to take up all the resources that belong to the people you are leading, I’m not sure that it is morally correct.

“Government is not about self-interest, and it’s actually self-interest that destroys government. If you accuse me of belonging to a class, I would readily admit, but add that I have happily committed class suicide because I would have benefitted if this law had continued.

“But we all know that it’s not the best for the country, for this state, for the workers who were hitherto owed for months, and for pensioners who we are still struggling to defray several months and years of arrears from 2014.

“It’s more appropriate for us to use the funds that would have been used to pay former elected political office holders to pay our workers.”

Otti appreciated the House of Assembly for the cordial relationship existing between it and the executive arm of government, which, according to him, is built on trust, respect, and understanding that they are working for the common good of the people.

Presenting the bill for his assent earlier, the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emereuwa, represented by the Deputy Speaker, Austin Meregini, said the Bill repeals Law No 4 of 2001, which empowers the state government to pay pensions to governors and deputy governors in the state, and thanked the governor for working harmoniously with the state House of Assembly.