Otti Assures Deceased Pensioners’ Next-of-Kin of Benefits, Announces Date for New ABSU VC

Abia State Governor, Dr Alex Otti, has assured the next-of-kin of deceased pensioners that they will receive the pension and other entitlements due to their deceased loved ones, saying his administration has made provisions to address the issue.

Governor Otti stated this on Thursday, August 27, 2026, during his monthly media parley with journalists, tagged “Governor Alex Otti Speaks to Abians,” held at the Michael Okpara Auditorium, Umuahia.

The Governor explained that although the government initially focused on pensioners who are still alive, arrangements had also been made to ensure that the benefits of deceased pensioners get to their legitimate next-of-kin.

“Next of Kin of pensioners who passed away; we thought we should start from those who are alive, and provisions have been made for those who are not here, and theirs will get to their next of Kin.”

Otti said the immediate priority of his administration was to clear outstanding pensions and gratuities before reviewing pension payments to align them with the current minimum wage.

He disclosed that the state had commenced and completed the payment of outstanding gratuities to senior citizens who retired between 2001 and 2010, adding that the government was preparing to address outstanding gratuities from 2011 to date based on available resources.

“We are getting ready to deal with the remaining years from 2011 all the way to the present, based on available resources. So we are taking them gradually.

“As I had reported earlier, we found that outstanding gratuities were over 60 billion. And we are undertaking to clear those gratuities gradually.”

The Governor also said the state was putting structures in place to permanently resolve pension-related challenges.

According to him, the government recently rolled out a contributory pension scheme for more than 36,000 workers in the state, which he said would make pension and gratuity obligations more seamless.

“What that means is that the issue of pensions and even gratuity will become seamless, since the contributory pension scheme is such that between the worker and the employer, some funds are set aside every month to take care of the pension and gratuity.”

Governor Otti also announced that a new substantive Vice-Chancellor would assume office at Abia State University, Uturu, in November 2026.

He said the process for appointing a new Vice-Chancellor had commenced because the tenure of the institution’s Acting Vice-Chancellor would expire at the end of October.

“In Abia State University, the process for leadership transition has started, given that the acting vice-chancellor, I believe, his tenure that expires at the end of October.

“So from first November, a substantive and new vice-chancellor would take over. And because of that, I think the advertisements have gone out, and the recruitment process has started.”

On the power situation in Aba, the Governor attributed the disruption to a serious incident that affected the supply of gas to the power-generating facility.

He said the affected gas supplier had to shut down operations to carry out repairs on its partner’s facility, creating a major challenge because there was initially only one source of gas supply.

Otti, however, said the state had engaged Niger Delta Holding, which provided an alternative gas supply to mitigate the situation.

The Governor also spoke on the local government elections, noting that the Abia State House of Assembly had amended the relevant laws before the election.

He explained that the amendment addressed the tenure of local government mayors, which had previously provided for a four-year tenure.

Otti announced that the state’s Citizens’ Engagement Centre would soon be officially opened to provide a direct channel of communication between the government and residents.

He said the centre would enable Abians to ask questions, make observations and contribute ideas on government policies and programmes.

He disclosed that a dedicated helpline, 0800-0000232, and email address, contactcenter@abiastate.gov.ng, had been provided for direct communication with the centre.

In the education sector, Governor Otti announced the reconstitution of the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) to handle matters relating to secondary education management across the state.

He also disclosed that his administration had recruited 4,074 additional teachers, following the earlier recruitment of 5,394 teachers.

According to him, the recruitment was deliberately targeted at locations and subject areas where there were identified shortages.

“We are intentional in this recruitment; we are targeted at locations and then in the different disciplines where they are required.

“So the deployment is happening as we speak. We have also engaged in massive infrastructure upgrades of the tertiary institutions.”

On healthcare, Otti reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to providing quality and affordable healthcare services to residents.

He said Abia was recently rated number one in healthcare affordability and third in healthcare quality in the 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index in Nigeria.

The Governor said the government would continue to implement reforms aimed at improving healthcare delivery and ensuring that residents have access to affordable and quality medical services.

He stressed that his administration would continue to pursue people-centred policies and programmes designed to improve the quality of life of Abians, while promoting transparency, accountability and sustainable development across the state.

The media parley was attended by the Secretary to the Abia State Government, Dr Emmanuel Meribeole; Chief of Staff to the Governor, Pastor Caleb Ajagba; Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu; and other members of the State Executive Council.