Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has said that the state government had paid all the pension arrears of retirees in the state.
Otti disclosed this on Friday during the monthly media parley in Umuahia, noting that all the pensions and arrears of about 12,500 retirees were cleared as of last Thursday.
He stated that over N9 billion out of the N10 billion outlay had so far been expended for the exercise.
The governor cited that his administration had, after assuming office on 29 May 2023, promised to pay off all the pension arrears by the end of that year.
He said that unfortunately, by the end of the year, they were still saddled with a very difficult verification exercise that ended just a few weeks ago.
Otti said that moving forward, pensioners would receive 100 per cent of their entitlements on or before the 28th of every month.
“As we are paying 100 per cent of salaries, we will also pay 100 per cent of pensions.
“Never again shall we have a backlog of pensions and arrears to be paid,” Mr Otti vowed.
The governor vowed that his administration would continue to prioritize the healthcare delivery system in the state.
He stressed that the government, in collaboration with a group, had engaged over 80 medical doctors who would provide free medical services in the state.
Otti explained that the medical personnel who had already started arriving in the state would carry out surgeries and other forms of treatments in the next couple of days.
He gave assurance that the government had provided logistics, especially for residents coming from outside the state capital, Umuahia.
The governor enjoined the people to take advantage of the free exercise and have their health checked.
He noted that his administration would continue with its programme of retrofitting the 948 primary health care centres in the state.
Reports revealed that the governor also spoke on a variety of issues concerning the development of the state while responding to questions from newsmen.
