Easter: Welfare of Abians, motivation for our projects, programmes – Otti

From Boniface Okoro, Umuahia

The major objective of the current administration in Abia State is to improve the lot of the people, Governor Alex Otti has said.

Governor Otti made this known in his Easter Message titled ” Living the Ideals of the Risen Christ,” made available to newsmen on Sunday, March 31, 2024.

The Governor, in the 33-paragraph message, said his administration was ver much interested in the welfare of the people, adding that this has motivated government to embark on programmes, projects and policies that would enhance the wellbeing of the people.

“As you may be aware, our government is very much interested in the welfare of the people, and this is the principal motivation for all our programmes and projects.

“Whether it is in the rehabilitation and reconstruction of long-abandoned roads; reset of the healthcare delivery system; improved security of life and property in our various communities; or in keeping to our promise of prompt and regular payment of salaries and pensions; our objective is always clear: to improve the lot of the average person who lives or does business in Abia,” Otti said.

He noted that in pursuance of same objective, his administration has cleared arrears of pensions owed retired workers in the state, since 2014.

“Just three days ago, we fulfilled a very important promise made to our senior citizens at various campaign stops and repeated with firm assurance in the early days of this administration.

“Our initial plan was to offset the pension arrears accumulated since 2014 by the end of 2023 but reconciliation and verification issues made us set the end of the first quarter of 2024 as the new deadline. We duly communicated the situation in our New Year message and pleaded for the kind understanding of our pensioners.

“I am glad that we have fulfilled that solemn promise; making it possible for thousands of pensioners and their families to celebrate this year’s Easter in joy, satisfied that what they worked for, their genuine entitlements, which had been delayed for years through no fault of theirs, has finally been offset,” he said.

The Governor said it was unconscionable that people who sacrificed the peak of their productive years to seve the state should be abandoned without being paid their dues and assured that such would not repeat.

“It is indeed regrettable that these great men and women who toiled for the State at the peak of their productive years were owed for so long. At any rate, as I mentioned in my address to Abians shortly after my inauguration, never again shall our senior citizens be subjected to the agony of unpaid entitlements,” Governor Otti said, adding that he has since directed that full pensions must be paid on or before the 28th of every month, same day civil servants in the state get their salaries. “As a rule, political office holders will only be paid after our obligations to our senior citizens and civil servants have been fulfilled, in full,” he said, explaining that government’s commitment to regular salary and pension payments was to “support individuals and families to plan.”

The Governor expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP) in Abia for their faith in his government, while also thanking all the pensioners for their sincere prayers and generous wishes following the receipt of their arreas of pension paid to them on March 28, 2024.

“I cannot thank you enough for your patience and goodwill,” the Governor said, adding, “I want to also thank members of my finance team for painstakingly hashing out the payment details and diligently doing all the hard work that got us to this satisfactory outcome.”

The 2024 Easter celebration, Governor Otti noted, affords Abians the opportunity to celebrate their freedom and liberation from forces that held the state down.

“We are celebrating in gratitude, fulfilled that we now have to look to the future with boundless optimism, thankful for the gift of redemption and freedom from the claws of powers that removed our dear State from its place of glory, as God had intended,” the Governor said.

Speaking on the significance of Easter, the Governor said the sufferings and agonies of Jesus Christ, from the way to Golgotha, His crucifixion and resurrection, “offer enduring lessons in fortitude in times of pain, hope in misery, and the power of faith to overcome fear and death.” 

He congratulated the Christian community in Abia State, and across the world on the occasion of the 2024 Easter celebration and wished all happy Easter celebrations.