RismadarVoice Reporters, August 28, 2026
Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, OFR, has said his administration will prioritise the payment of outstanding gratuities owed to retirees before considering a review of pensions in the state.
Otti stated this while responding to a question from ABN TV during the August edition of the monthly media engagement, “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians.”
The question was raised by ABN TV correspondent, Ifeanyi Okali, who commended the governor for commencing the payment of gratuities to pensioners in the 2001–2010 batch.
Okali, however, drew attention to concerns over the review of pensions and other benefits for senior citizens.
He noted that pensions had reportedly not been reviewed since 2010, despite the salary review carried out in 2024, while retirees were also reportedly excluded from the subsidy-removal allowance extended to workers.
He asked whether the state government would consider reviewing pensions and extending similar benefits to senior citizens.
Responding, Otti acknowledged that the demand for a pension review was legitimate but explained that his administration was taking a phased approach to addressing challenges inherited in the pension system.
“Ifeanyi Okali of ABN TV, thank you so much for the commendation on the payment of gratuity. Your question about review of pensions is not out of place. But again, you need to count one before you count two,” the governor said.
Otti explained that the immediate priority was to clear outstanding entitlements owed to retirees, particularly those who had previously gone without their gratuities.
“These are people who were not receiving anything before now. So we need to pay them the gratuities that are being owed, first of all, before we begin to talk of review of pension,” he stated.
The governor’s position indicates that although a review of pensions remains under consideration, the administration intends to first settle accumulated gratuity obligations before taking further steps to improve retirees’ benefits.
The discussion formed part of the August edition of “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians,” an interactive media engagement through which journalists question the governor on government policies, programmes and issues affecting residents of the state.
