Gov. Otti Approves Payment Of 10-Year Pension Arrears For Surviving Abia ADP Retirees

Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, has approved the payment of pension arrears owed to surviving retirees of the Abia State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) who served between 2000 and 2010.

The approval followed a humanitarian appeal submitted by the affected retirees under the platform “Surviving Abia ADP Retirees 2000–2010.” The appeal was presented through the Office of the Ombudsman/Public Complaints in collaboration with the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

According to a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ctz. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, the retirees were initially excluded from pension benefits because employment under the ADP was not pensionable at the time of their service. It was only in 2011 that the Abia State Government made ADP employment pensionable, leaving workers who had retired between 2000 and 2010 without pension coverage.

However, following reports that the Otti administration had cleared several years of pension arrears owed to Abia pensioners and restored regular pension payments, the affected retirees approached the governor with a passionate appeal for redress.

Governor Otti subsequently approved the payment of the arrears as a compassionate intervention to address what the government described as a long-standing omission that had subjected the retirees to years of hardship.

The move, according to the statement, reflects the governor’s commitment to the welfare of senior citizens and his determination to correct injustices suffered by both retired and active public servants in the state.

Since assuming office, Governor Otti’s administration has also settled several outstanding salary and pension arrears inherited from previous administrations. These include 32 months of salary arrears owed workers of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, arrears owed disengaged staff of the institution, 26 months of unpaid salaries to staff of Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), 11 months of arrears owed Abia State University staff, and 36 months of unpaid salaries to staff of Abia State College of Education Technical, Arochukwu (ASCETA).

Other cleared obligations include salary arrears owed workers under the Abia State Health Management Board, as well as primary and secondary school teachers.

The approval of pension payments for the ADP retirees, the government noted, further underscores Governor Otti’s belief that governance must prioritize the welfare and dignity of the people, particularly senior citizens who have served the state.