Unanswered Questions By Gov. Otti On Non-Payment Of Gratuity

By AUGUSTINE ELUWA

Media critics have noted that familiarity and friendship on the beat are detrimental to unbiased reporting by specialised reporters.  They accuse beat reporters of frequently succumbing to their sources’ demands.  That is, familiarity with beats and friendship encourages compromise in the performance of reporterd’ duties.

This trend has become visible and evident in the monthly media briefing by Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Chioma Otti, with journalists titled “Governor Alex Otti Speaks To Abians.”. Reporters who attend the monthly media interactive session have abandoned their traditional role of interrogating the Governor in order to elicit the hidden truth about the incumbent government.  Instead of asking probing and follow-up questions, the reporters end up praising the Governor.

Six journalists including Ifeanyi Okali, Obinna Ibe and Steve Okoh, praised the Governor during the programme on Wednesday, April 30, 2025.  The reporters’ actions were unprofessional and detracted from the essence of the programme.  “Governor Alex Otti Speaks To Abians” should not be a platform for praise singing.  It should be a forum for highlighting the administration’s accomplishments as the Governor does in his introductory remarks, and of course, for firing posers that will address burning issues on citizens’ minds, while also unearthing things the government wishes to keep out of the public domain.

Consider the SMS question posted by one EZENWAOKE EGU on the payment of retirement entitlements of Permanent Secretaries abruptly retired from the State Civil Service on October 31, 2023, to which Governor Otti expressed surprise at the last Media Chat that had yet to be paid despite his approval to that effect.

In his response, Governor Otti in his characteristic style of deflecting questions, stated in one breath that he was aware that all of the affected Permanent Secretaries’ retirement benefits, including regular pension payments, had long been paid.  On the other hand, the Governor stated that he assumed EZENWAOKE EGU was referring to the payment of gratuity that long been unpaid in the state by previous administrations.  The Governor also sidestepped the question by stating that, as promised, he will revisit the gratuity issue when a new National Executive of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) is elected.

The Governor’s contradictory and evasive response provided an excellent opportunity for the reporters to press him further to definitive answer.  Unfortunately, no reporter asked a single follow-up question.

Due to the reporters’ inability to fulfill their professional responsibilities, we would like to use this platform to ask the Abia State Governor some questions.  +. His Excellency Sir, this that you are parrying the question, have you forgotten that at your instance, the Secretary To Abia State Government (SSG), Prof. Kenneth Kalu, met with the former Head of Service (HOS), Sir Onyii Wamah, and the 31 Permanent Secretaries during which the SSG conveyed your assurances of immediate payment of all their retirement entitlements and pleaded with them to accept their retirement as a policy measure of the New Abia Administration?
+ To that extent, is Governor Alex Otti no longer a promise-, keeping governor?
+ If the retired Permanent Secretaries had long been paid, as stated by the Governor, the question raised by EZENWAOKE EGU would not have arisen?
+  Why has Governor Otti not followed suit with his counterparts in Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Katsina and Kano to mention a few, in clearing gratuity and pension arrears?
+. Must the Abia State Governor wait for the National Union of Pensioners’ election before he begins to pay out accumulated pension and gratuity?
,+. What is the Governor going to discuss with emergent NUP National Executive, the rejected forfeiture of gratuity and pension arrears by Abia Senior Citizens?
These and more are the unanswered questions for Governor Alex Otti to address.

One of the campaign issues raised by Dr. Alex Chioma Otti when running for Governor of the state was the payment of past administrations’ accrued gratuity and pension obligations.  His promise to clear accumulated pension and gratuity and make timely salary and pension payment, which he is currently doing, earned him a large number of votes from civil servants and pensioners.  He made the promise based solely on the approximately N4 billion that the state was receiving from FAAC allocation.  But now, with President Bola Tinubu’ removal of petroleum subsidies from day one, Abia State presently earnns between N18 billion and N20 billion per month.  This is in addition to increased internal generated revenue (IGR).

Given the quadrupling of FAAC allocation to the state, Governor Alex Otti should in all honesty defray arrears of gratuity and pension owed to retired government employees while remaining current on their payments.  In the spirit of our dream’s for a New Abia, Governor Alex Otti should abandon the unholy idea  of pensioners forefeiting the fruits of their labours and commence paying retirement benefits immediately, beginning with the former Head of Service, the 31 Permanent Secretaries and all the Directors whom he retired in October 2023.

Doing so will be a positive development that will improve the government’s performance rating.  Non-payment of gratuities and pensions as well as staying current on payments, will be a strong campaign issue in 2027 as it was in 2023

Finally  in order to truly assess Ndi Abia’s opinion of the Dr. Alex Otti’s administration, the monthly media parley should be very constructive, devoid of syconphancy and taking Abia back to the era of hero worship and eye service.  More importantly, the Governor should step out to the local government areas for the time being.

*Eluwa wrote from Umuahia