Abia Assembly Passes Bill To Stop Pension For Ex Govs, Deputies

A bill to abolish pensions and other benefits for former governors and deputy governors is passed by the Abia Assembly.

The State Assembly has enacted a law that will eliminate the pensions and other benefits of previous governors and deputy governors, marking a significant milestone in the effort to reduce the cost of government in Abia State.

The three former governors, Senators Okezie Ikpeazu, Theodore Orji, and Orji Uzor Kalu, will presumably no longer be eligible for pensions and other benefits.

However, the bill needs to be approved by Alex Otti, the state governor.

Uchenna Okoro, the House member for Arochukwu State Constituency, made the announcement immediately after Tuesday's session.

The member representing Arochukwu State Constituency, Kalu, sponsored the bill, “H.A.B 11: a Bill for a Law to Repeal the Abia State Governors & Deputy Governors Pensions Law No 4 of 2001 and for Other Matters.”

The goal of the law, which failed on its first, second, and third readings, is to stop the State from making “outrageous” expenditures on former governors and their deputies.

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The legislator expressed happiness over the bill's passing and stated that it was consistent with the governor Otti-led administration's goal of bringing down the cost of state government.

According to Kalu, past governors receive monthly benefits totaling billions of dollars, yet pensioners who served the state for years are still having difficulty receiving their benefits.

“We did not amended the bill, we scrapped it completely. The bill is about past governors who are not in active service receiving pensions and other entitlements after serving for four years. They are paid by the state every month, so we had to repeal it. So, it no longer stands. When you are done with your tenure, just go home because nobody is paying you anything.

“We cannot have backlogs of pensioners who are not receiving payments and people in active service not being paid and past governors and their deputies are pocketing billions while the money is supposed to be for state development and payment of civil servants.”

Note that Otti stated to have inherited unpaid pay and pensions from both active and retired state employees.

H.A.B. 10, or the “Bill for A Law to Establish the Abia State Cocoa Development and Marketing Board Bill 2024,” was another measure that was brought before the house.

The Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Augustin Okezie, sponsored the measure, which was approved on the house floor for its first reading.

The Assembly Members were successful in passing the bill into law.

H.A.B. 9, titled “Bill for a Law to Establish Colleges of Nursing Sciences Owned by Faith-Based and Private Establishments in Abia State and for other related purposes,” was another bill that was discussed by the State Assembly.

Hon. Emeka Obioma (Umuahia South), the Chief Whip of the house, sponsored the bill, which according to Hon. Kalu passed for its second reading on the house floor.

He added, “The bill was committed to the House Committee on Health which was mandated to conduct a public hearing on the Bill and to revert to the house in a month for further legislative actions.”