Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia
Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has signed into law the bill prohibiting former governors of the state and their deputies from receiving pensions and allowances.
He gave his assent late Thursday, barely 48 hours after the Bill known as HAB 11, the “Abia State Governor’s and Deputy Governor’s Pensions Law Repeal Bill 2024,” was passed by the State House of Assembly
With Otti’s signature appended to the Bill, the Abia State of Nigeria Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Repeal Law of 2024 has come to be.
It has, thus displaced Law No. 4 of 2001 which empowered the State government to place former Governors and Deputy Governors on pension.
Otti commended the 8th Abia Assembly for speedy passage of the Executive Bill, saying that it was never his intention to implement the pension law for former chief executives of the state.
He argued that instead of using state resources to take care of former governors and their deputies such money would better be used to offset backlog of retired Abia workers’ pensions dating back to 2014.
“I want to make a few things clear: even before we came onboard a lot of people who had followed our views understand that we were not going to continue with the practice of paying pensions and allowances to this set of former government officials,” he said.
Otti alluded that people attempted to discourage him from abandoning the pension law, saying that they “had confronted me to remind me that very soon I will also be a former Governor” and become a beneficiary.
But while “I agree completely” that he could be a beneficiary of Law of 200, the Abia Governor noted that governance “is not about self-interest” hence repealing the law was proper.
“So it’s all about good governance, it’s all about stewardship to our people and I strongly believe that any leader who believes that leadership is a business has lost his way.
As far as I am concerned, leadership is stewardship and if you now want to take up all the resources that belong to the people you are leading, I’m not sure that is morally correct,” Otti stated.
He argued that, “government is not about self-interest and it’s actually self-interest that destroys government”, adding that even though he belonged to the class that the controversial law was meant to favour, “I have happily committed class suicide”.
He expressed gratitude to members of the State Assembly for the cordial relationship between the legislature and the executive arm of government “built on trust, respect and understanding that they are working for the common good of the people” .
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon Austin Meregini, had on behalf of the Speaker, Rt. Hon Emmanuel Emeruwa, presented the Bill to the governor for his assent.
He explained that the Bill repeals Law No. 4 of 2001 which provides that the state government should be paying pension to former Governors and Deputy Governors in the State.
The Deputy Speaker thanked Governor Otti for working harmoniously with the State House of Assembly.
Meanwhile, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday, said payment of pension to former governors and their deputies was daylight robbery.
He hailed Otti for the move and urged other State governors to toe similar path.
Obasanjo spoke yesterday, when he paid Otti a visit at his country home in Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area.
He said, “I watched the television and I saw repealing of Abia pensions, and I asked you; what exactly is this? You said to me that the pension scheme for former governors here was too outrageous.
“It’s like trouble because it allowed them to have a house in Abuja and elsewhere, and it allowed them to cart away with whatever they can, yet the pensions of ordinary people from 2014 are unpaid.
“What sort of leadership? You came and said there will be an end to that rascality. I congratulate you, and I say to you, I hope that your colleagues will follow your footsteps.”
