Abia to clear 10 years arrears of pensions of surviving retired ADP staff

Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has approved the payment of arrears of pensions owed surviving retirees of Abia State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), from 2000 – 2010.

BusinessDay gathered that the approval is a swift and compassionate response to a humanitarian appeal made by the affected retirees under the platform “Surviving Abia ADP Retirees 2000–2010.”

Their appeal according to a government statement, was submitted through the Office of the Ombudsman/Public Complaints in collaboration with the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

At the time the ADP was established, the employment was not pensionable. It was only in 2011 that the then Abia State Government made ADP job pensionable. However, workers who served and retired between 2000 – 2010 were excluded from the new policy.

Following reports that Governor Otti’s administration had cleared a decade-long backlog of pension arrears owed to Abia pensioners and restored regular payment of pensions at the same time, promptly paying salaries of the active state workforce, the affected surviving ADP retirees approached the Governor with a passionate appeal for redress.

Governor Alex Otti’s compassionate consideration and approval of the appeal of the senior citizens is a demonstration of his commitment to the welfare of senior citizens and retirees and to address the long-standing omission and provide relief to the surviving retirees who had survived untold hardship like every other Abia pensioner before the emergence of Governor Otti.

Recall that Governor Otti, has continued to pay decades of debts and arrears of commitments incurred by previous administrations.

Among the arrears already settled are, 32 months’ salary arrears owed workers of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, Aba (formerly Abia Polytechnic), arrears of salaries owed disengaged staff of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic (formerly Abia State Polytechnic), 26 months’ salary arrears owed staff of Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), and 11 months’ salary arrears owed staff of Abia State University.

Others are 36 months’ salary arrears owed staff of Abia State College of Education Technical Arochukwu (ASCETA), several months of salary arrears owed staff of the Abia State Health Management Board, including primary school teachers and secondary education management board, among other workers-related debts.

The move further underscores Governor Otti administration’s commitment to righting the wrongs and long-standing injustice done to retired and active workforce, and to improve their welfare.

This compassionate approval is a practical demonstration of Governor Otti’s belief that governance must be about the welfare of the people.