Ex-Govs Orji, Ikpeazu paid No Higher than 0.01% of Abia gratuities – Govt
The Abia State Government has alleged that the administrations of former Governors Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu paid less than 0.01 per cent of gratuities owed to workers who retired from the state and local government services between 2011 and May 2023.
The government said the revelation was contained in the report of a committee constituted by Governor Alex Otti to review the state’s outstanding gratuity liabilities.
Abia State Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, disclosed this on Monday in Umuahia while briefing journalists on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Otti.
According to him, the review established that the total outstanding gratuity liability in the state stood at N61.8 billion.
He explained that the figure comprised N7.2 billion accumulated between 2001 and 2010; N43.6 billion incurred between 2011 and May 2023; and another N10.9 billion accumulated from May 2023 to August 2026.
Kanu said the present administration had commenced the payment of outstanding gratuities, beginning with retirees who exited the state and local government services between 2001 and 2010.
He said the committee’s findings showed that payments made by successive administrations, particularly those of former Governors Orji and Ikpeazu, covered less than 0.01 per cent of the gratuities owed to retirees who left the service between 2011 and May 2023.
“The review also showed that payments made by successive administrations, particularly the administrations of former Governors Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu, covered less than 0.01 per cent of the gratuity owed to retirees who exited the service between 2011 and May 2023,” Kanu said.
The commissioner said the government was committed to addressing the backlog of unpaid entitlements and ensuring that retirees who had served the state and local government systems were paid their legitimate benefits.
Otti not behind ABSU lecturer’s suspension — Govt
Meanwhile, the Abia State Government has dismissed claims that Governor Alex Otti influenced the suspension of Professor of Economics, Nnamdi Nwaeze, by the Abia State University, Uturu.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, made the clarification at Government House, Umuahia, on Monday, while responding to questions from journalists concerning the controversy surrounding the lecturer’s suspension.
Ekeoma maintained that the matter was strictly an internal issue of the university and had nothing to do with the state government.
“The Governor will not get involved. The suspension of the lecturer has nothing to do with the state government,” he said.
He consequently urged members of the public to disregard insinuations linking the governor to the lecturer’s suspension.
EDITOR
Sam Udekwe is a journalist working in the News and Current Affairs department, Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) Enugu. He is well trained in all genres of journalistic venture.
Mr Sam read Mass Communication, graduating all with Distinction in National Diploma, Higher National Diploma and Postgraduate Diploma at IMT, Enugu and Madonna University, Okija, Anambra state, as well as M.Sc Mass Communication at National Open University of Nigeria.
He is the immediate past NUJ Chairman, Enugu state.
samowailo@gmail.com
