NEWS
Gov. Otti Approves Payment of 10-Year Pension Arrears for Surviving Abia ADP Retirees (2000–2010), Moves to Address Longstanding Welfare Gap
The Governor of Abia State, Alex Chioma Otti, has approved the payment of pension arrears owed to surviving retirees of the Abia State Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) who served and retired between 2000 and 2010.
The approval follows a humanitarian appeal made by the affected retirees under the platform “Surviving Abia ADP Retirees 2000–2010,” who sought government intervention over their prolonged exclusion from pension benefits.
According to a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Ctz. Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, the appeal was submitted through the Office of the Ombudsman/Public Complaints in collaboration with the Office of the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
The Abia State Agricultural Development Programme was originally established with employment terms that were not pensionable. However, in 2011, the Abia State Government introduced a policy that made ADP employment pensionable. Workers who had already served and retired between 2000 and 2010 were excluded from the new arrangement, leaving many of them without pension benefits for years.
Following reports that the Otti led-administration had cleared a decade-long backlog of pension arrears owed to Abia pensioners while restoring regular pension payments and maintaining prompt salary payments for the active state workforce, the affected retirees approached the governor with a passionate appeal for redress.
Governor Otti’s approval of the payment is being described as a compassionate response aimed at addressing the longstanding omission and providing relief to the elderly retirees, many of whom endured years of financial hardship prior to the intervention.
The move is also seen as part of the administration’s broader effort to prioritise the welfare of senior citizens and retired workers across the state.
Since assuming office, Governor Otti has continued to offset several long-standing salary and pension liabilities inherited from previous administrations.
Among the arrears already settled by the administration are 32 months of salary arrears owed to workers of Ogbonnaya Onu Polytechnic, formerly known as Abia Polytechnic, as well as outstanding salaries owed to disengaged staff of the institution.
The government has also cleared 26 months of salary arrears owed to staff of Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), and 11 months of salary arrears owed to staff of Abia State University.
Other outstanding payments addressed by the administration include 36 months of salary arrears owed to staff of Abia State College of Education Technical Arochukwu (ASCETA), along with several months of unpaid salaries owed to workers under the Abia State Health Management Board, including primary school teachers and staff of the Secondary Education Management Board.
Observers say the latest approval further underscores the governor’s commitment to addressing longstanding welfare concerns affecting both retired and active workers in the state.
The development also reinforces the administration’s position that governance must prioritise the wellbeing of citizens, particularly vulnerable groups such as pensioners and senior citizens who dedicated decades of service to the state.