After Governor Alex Otti approved the bill aimed at overhauling the pension system for ex-governors and deputy governors in Abia State, former President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo denounced the jumbo pension, describing it as “daylight robbery and rascality.”
The former military head of state made this statement during his visit to Otti on Friday, where he commended the governor for his stance against the perceived excesses of the pension system.
Chief Obasanjo’s remarks were prompted by Otti’s decision to repeal the pensions acts that recommended hefty payouts for former governors. The former president expressed his support for Otti’s actions, emphasizing the need to curtail what he termed as “rascality” in governance.
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Obasanjo said Otti told me about the exorbitant nature of the pension scheme for former governors in Abia State, highlighting the discrepancy between such benefits and the unpaid pensions of ordinary citizens since 2014.
In commending Otti’s efforts, Chief Obasanjo emphasized the importance of leadership in addressing such disparities and urged other governors to emulate Otti’s example.
“What sort of leadership? You came and said there would be an end to that rascality. I congratulate you, and I say to you, I hope that your colleagues will follow in your footsteps,” Obasanjo said.
He also urged Otti to pay adequate attention to infrastructure, noting its importance in economic development.
“If you give infrastructure and you give the type of leadership you are giving, the people of the state will have nothing to worry about. On their own, they are enterprising. All they need is the leadership that will give them all the encouragement,” he said.
Governor Otti, on his part, reiterated his commitment to promoting good governance and stewardship in Abia State. He described leadership as a form of stewardship and stressed the need for public funds to be utilized for the welfare of citizens rather than for individual benefit.
Peerless OBJ – a president who cannot be compared with any other because none is close to his political and intellectual sagacity in Nigeria since 1999. A man with grace, unbounded and unconstrained, in forms and ways. A leader who got the crickets to sing, the hibiscus flowers… pic.twitter.com/2WydOR1VTG
— Ndubuisi Ekekwe (@ndekekwe) March 22, 2024
Otti’s assent to the Abia State of Nigeria Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Repeal Bill of 2024 has been hailed as a mark of significant departure from the status quo, reflecting his administration’s prioritization of public welfare over personal gain.
The legislative process leading to the repeal of the pension law was marked by collaboration between the executive and legislative arms of government.
Obasanjo reiterated his belief that the South East geo-political zone has the potential to spearhead what he terms as regional development, citing its near-monolithic cohesion across various aspects.
Story background
Governor Alex Otti of Abia on Thursday signed the Abia State of Nigeria Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Repeal Bill of 2024 into law.
In a speech after assenting to the law in Nvosi, Mr Otti described the new law as part of the efforts made to promote good governance and stewardship in Abia.
The governor said that he strongly believed that leadership was all about stewardship and should not be viewed as an opportunity to embezzle public funds.
He thanked the Abia House of Assembly for expeditiously dealing with the bill and commended them for the cordial relationship between the legislative and executive arms of government.
Otti said that the cordial relationship between both arms of government had been built on trust and understanding that the separate arms of government were working together for the people.
He assured the legislature of maximum support from the executive.
Mr Otti described the new law regarding revoking pension payments to former officeholders as a step in the right direction.
He said that “government is not about self-interest, it is actually self-interest that destroys government.”
Otti said that prioritizing public welfare over individual benefits ought to be given key consideration in policy-making.
He said that he was aware that he would have benefitted if the law continued to exist and added that it was best to use the funds to improve the lives of citizens.
Otti also said that the pensioners were the people who needed the funds the most and not former officeholders.
He expressed displeasure over the practice of allocating 80 percent of the state’s budget to recurrent expenditure and 20 percent to capital expenditure by past administrations.
He said that the changed policy was part of the efforts made by the present administration to reduce the cost of governance.
Otti said: “I have seen engagements where people said that they have not been collecting.
“It is true because they have not been paid, and we don’t believe that those payments should be made.
“One of the people who should be paid wrote me about not being paid; I put a call across to him and explained why it should not be paid and he agreed with me.
“I told him we had not paid anyone and he said that he wanted to confirm that he was not being singled out.
“The point I am trying to make is that even the people that should receive it believe that repealing the law is the best.”
The Speaker of the Abia House of Assembly, Emmanuel Emereuwa, said that the bill when signed into law would revoke Abia State Governors’ and Deputy Governors’ Law no 4 of 2001.
Emeruwa, represented by his deputy, Austin Meregini, said that he had come to present the bill to the governor for his assent.
In a remark, the Attorney General of the state, Ikechukwu Uwanna, said that the governor had taken a bold and audacious step by assenting to the bill.
Uwanna said that he believed that it was in line with the will of the people and thanked the House of Assembly for working in tandem with the executive to transform the state.