Abia pensioners honest, misled by dishonest leadership..Gov Otti,
By Sam Obinna Ibe/Umuahia.
Against the backdrop of discordant tunes being sang by the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) as to the true position of what the state government is owing or not owing pensioners in the State.
Irked by this ugly development of denial,Abia State Governor,His Excellency, Dr Alex Otti has taken a swipe on the leadership of pensioners in the state stating that Abia pensioners are honest people but are unfortunately being misled by their dishonest leaders who are singing discordant tunes with the reality on ground.
According to Governor Alex Otti,” it is uncalled for that the so-called leadership of pensioners that sat and took a decision, signed a memorandum of agreement with the state government would now turn back to deny what they both collectively agreed ,therefore gives much to be desired in the calibre of leadership representing Abia pensioners.
Governor Alex Otti made this observation while reacting to a question by one of the journalists concerning the controversy surrounding the claims and counter claims by the Nigerian Union of pensioners in the state given the claims that the state government had cleared backlog of pensioners arrears left behind by the previous administrations in Abia State.
This Government position did not go down well with the leadership of pensioners in the state that swiftly stated that what the state government under Otti cleared was arrears incured by his own government and not gratuity due to their retirees, therefore,the government should either pay the arrears or leave same for any government that would be coming after his,but not to sweep it with a wave of the hands.
However,in response to the stand point of the leadership of pensioners, and protests against the state government, complaining of owing them backlog of pensions and gratuity arrears during the January 2025 edition of monthly media chat tagged “Gov Alex Otti speaks to Abians,the globally acknowledged performing governor of Abia State,Dr Alex Otti explained that there was nothing wrong for leadership of pensioners to own up to their mistakes, stressing that having entered into agreement with the state government,but for them to later turn back to cry a wolf is something that should be condemned in it’s entirety.
To this end,he lauded the maturity and understanding of genuine pensioners but did not spared a word to lampoon the leadership,whom he accused of deceiving their fellow retirees on the reality on ground,when the truth remains that there was indeed an agreement entered with Abia state government.
Otti maintained that Abia state pensioners as honest people, but they are unfortunately being misled by dishonest leadership, noting that there was no need to reward leadership that is dishonest.
Abia Governor who lamented leadership without integrity , charged the leadership of Abia state NUP to go to court if they are not satisfied with the memorandum of understanding they signed with the state government on the payment of the backlog of pension and gratuity arrears owed them by the previous governments.
“The pensioners in Abia state, are honest people but their leadership is dishonest, we don’t reward dishonest leadership, if you made a mistake,but don’t say you didn’t sign, don’t say I was deceived, you went to school, somebody was owing you, I did not owe them, they kept quiet for over ten years; and somebody come to say I want to clear the backlog and they were happy.”
“I will not be discouraged with the game the leadership of the pensioners are playing. I will no longer deal with them; if they want genuine reconciliation of whatever impasse,why will they hire People’s Democratic Party (PDP) lawyer, somebody who owed them for ten years to come, and rubbish somebody who offered to help them”?
“Since I came, I have been paying them 100% of their pension; the genuine pensioners are happy,” Gov. Otti said.
He described the leadership of Abia state NUP as contractors who feel they are here to do business, stating that they cannot collect their monies and come back to say they are deceived to sign an MOU.
“I have finished with them, if they are not happy with what they signed, they should go to court, if somebody is not happy that he is paid 100% of his pension, he should return the one he was paid and go and continue wearing black, I will not negotiate with dishonest leadership again,” Gov. Otti stressed.
But while reacting to the Governor’s comment on the leadership of Abia NUP, Elder Erondi, the state chairman of Abia State NUP, on Friday in a monitored radio interview, said that the Governor’s remark describing Abia NUP leadership is very unfortunate, stating that they are not dishonest and stupid as the Governor said.
“I’m bleeding in my heart, I am not happy with what he said. We are not dishonest people; we are good people; we are not stupid; we are seasoned old men.
“Yes, we signed that which was pressed on us to sign by government officials; it’s only a foolish man that will refuse to sign when he is asked to sign with a man holding a gun behind him at that hour of the night,” he said.
When asked what is their next line of action to resolve the pension problem, he said, “If we go to court as the Governor challenged us, my fear is that he will stop paying the one he is paying to our members, and the court action will linger until he goes out of office. We will not challenge him in court.
In it’s swift reaction,the State Coordinator of Concerned Abia Pensioners,Chief Emeka Okezie has lambasted NUP for creating confusion in the midst of nothing saying that they have not for one day extol Governor Alex Otti for clearing backlog of arrears owed Abia pensioners which was abandoned by the previous administrations.
Chief Okezie told our Correspondent in a telephone interview that actions of NUP should be condemned in it’s totality, pointing out that how can they enter into negotiations without informing their members, some months after signing agreement with government only to come back at the eleventh hour to sing a different tunes,which he said is uncalled for.
He insisted that as far Concerned Abia Pensioners are concerned,Governor Alex Otti is trying and needs to be encouraged for what he has done so far to alleviate the hitherto sufferings of pensioners that instead of applauding him for boosting their morale so far,but are busy throwing banters.
“Very soon,we are going to roll out the drums to extol our performing governor for wiping away our tears when it mattered most in their lives of pensioners in the State ” Chief Emeka Okezie said.
In this nexus, he urged the governor to remain steadfast in his avowed commitment to take Abia State to greater heights, adding that NUP should come down from their olympian height to appreciate what the governor has done so far to restore hope to the languishing retirees.
A source from government quarters are accusing Abia NUP of being use to discredit Governor Alex Otti who has been working tirelessly to rewrite the wrongs of the past governments , pointing out that there were group of pensioners that sided immediate past government against the incumbent during electioneering campaigns wondering why the so- called NUP leadership should be more catholic than pope.
As the controversy surrounding the claims and counter claims of payment of retirees by Abia State Government rages,observers are of the opinion that pensioners should appreciate efforts of the present government so far in paying them as at when due,thereby can politely make any genuine demands from the government as the only way as the way to solve the impasse.
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