Retirees under the Abia Pensioners’ Forum have flared up in anger over the state’s lingering pension crisis, alleging that elderly citizens are dying, starving, and becoming homeless while waiting endlessly for benefits they earned after decades of service.
Addressing journalists in Umuahia, the forum said the situation has become unbearable, accusing the government of allowing senior citizens to slip into avoidable deaths and extreme hardship.
The forum’s coordinator, Okey Kanu, insisted that pensioners will never surrender their entitlements, stressing that gratuities and arrears are rights, not favours.
Kanu condemned what he described as an “inordinate” delay, noting that despite clearing ten months of arrears between June 2023 and March 2024, the administration has yet to touch the huge backlog inherited from past governments.
He also dismissed claims that retirees agreed to a controversial Memorandum of Agreement to forfeit a portion of their benefits.
“With each passing month, more pensioners fall into worsening health, depression, and, in many cases, death without receiving what they worked for over 35 years of service. This is a grave injustice,” he said.
The pensioners acknowledged Governor Alex Otti’s visible infrastructure achievements but warned that development means nothing if retirees are not alive to enjoy it.
They reminded him of the overwhelming support he received from pensioners during the 2023 election based on assurances that outstanding payments would be cleared.
Responding to the complaints, the governor’s media aide, Ferdinand Ekeoma, told ABN TV that the government is fully aware of the grievances and is already working on a structured resolution.
Ekeoma explained that Governor Otti had earlier constituted a comprehensive committee to verify pension records dating back to 2001.
“The committee just submitted its report a little over a week ago. Because thousands of retirees are affected and arrears date as far back as 2001, the verification needed to be thorough,” he said.
He disclosed that the verified backlog stands at over ₦60 billion, making a phased payment plan necessary.
“What the government is doing now is determining how payment will be structured—whether some will receive 100% immediately or whether others will receive half until all arrears are cleared. But payment will happen,” he assured.
Ekeoma added that the verification was essential to eliminate errors, inflated claims, and fraudulent entries.
“It is better if everything is verified once and properly calculated so that nobody is overpaid or omitted when payment begins. The government is on it,” he said.
He further noted that while tackling the backlog, the administration has continued to pay current pension obligations and emphasized that retirees are aware of ongoing reforms.
