The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of pensioners from parastatals in Abia State has appealed to Governor Alex Otti to clear 13 months of outstanding pension arrears owed to its members.
In a statement signed by JAC Chairman, Comrade Chinkwe Ikenyi, and Secretary, Chief Ikoro John Ikoro, the group said the arrears date back to December 2023 when the state government stopped payment of pensions to parastatal retirees on what it described as the “erroneous impression” that they were not verifiable.
The affected pensioners include retirees of the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia (BCA), Abia Newspapers and Publishing Corporation, the Council for Arts and Culture, the Abia State Housing and Property Development Corporation, and the Umuahia Capital Development Authority (UCDA).
According to JAC, Governor Otti had in June 2024 approved a verification exercise to confirm their eligibility after the pensioners wrote to clarify their status. The group recalled that the governor assured them during a media chat that their entitlements were “intact” and would be paid once verification was concluded.
“However, and contrary to this assurance, after the verification exercise, the pensioners’ money which Your Excellency said was intact could not be paid… for 13 months,” the statement read.
The retirees said the prolonged delay had forced many members into severe hardship, with some reportedly dying during the period, while others resorted to borrowing money at high interest rates to survive.
The group noted that although Governor Otti approved the resumption of pension payments in January 2025, the backlog of arrears remains unsettled.
“At the end of this month (September), it would be nine months in which we logically expect Your Excellency to do same for us by ensuring that our arrears are cleared in order to be on a par with our Ministry counterparts before the consummation of payment of gratuities,” the statement added.
JAC further recalled that the state government had previously cleared 10 months of arrears owed to ministry pensioners, expressing optimism that a similar gesture would be extended to parastatal retirees.
While pledging continued support for the government’s vision, the pensioners urged Governor Otti to act swiftly to alleviate their suffering amid what they described as Nigeria’s “hyper-inflationary” economy.
