Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has reaffirmed his commitment to clear the pension arrears of Abia retirees before the end of December. This assurance was given during a media parley on Friday night.
Governor Otti had previously vowed to wipe off pension arrears by December during his inaugural speech and reiterated this resolve at various forums. “My promise to clear pension arrears by the end of this month still stands. Whatever it takes, we want to take it down so that by 2024 we start on a clean slate,” he assured.
The governor explained that his emergence was to alleviate the burden of the people and promised that his administration would give adequate attention to the welfare of workers. He is currently engaging with necessary stakeholders to mitigate the plights of workers in the face of the biting economic hardship following the removal of fuel subsidies. “An announcement will be made in the weeks ahead in this regard,” he added.
READ MORE: Anambra State to Experience Five-Day Blackout, EEDC Announces
In response to allegations by some members of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that he abandoned the multi-billion-dollar New Government House to operate from his private residence, Governor Otti said they were intimidated by his achievements and resorted to blackmail. He further explained that he decided to operate from his private residence to save cost for the state as neither the Old nor New Government House was habitable.
When asked about his decision to appoint bourgeoisie as mayors for local government areas in the state, Otti said it was to trigger healthy competition for development among the councils.
Additionally, the Governor promised that the much-discussed Enyimba Economic City—which his predecessor vigorously advocated but never saw the light of day—would not be the fate of the Ukwa West Industrial Park, which his administration had recently flagged off. He made hints that two investors, one from China and the other from the park, had expressed a willingness to invest $6 million US in a modular refinery.