Ex-Govs Orji, Ikpeazu only 0.01% of gratuities from 2011 to 2023 – Abia Govt

Abia State Government has alleged that the past administrations of Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu paid only 0.01 per cent of gratuities owed to workers who retired from the state and the local government systems between 2011 and 2023.

According to the government, the revelation about the 0.01 per cent payment was contained in a report released by a committee it set up to review outstanding gratuities in the state.

The Commissioner for Information, Okey Kanu, stated this on Monday in Umuahia while briefing journalists on the outcome of this week’s Executive Council meeting presided over by Governor Alex Otti.

Kanu said the current government had commenced the payment of gratuities owed to retirees, starting with those who retired between 2001 and 2010.

According to him, the review committee established that the total outstanding gratuity liability stood at N61.8 billion, comprising N7.2 billion accumulated between 2001 and 2010, N43.6 billion incurred between 2011 and May 2023, and another N10.9 billion accumulated from May 2023 to August 2026.

“The review also showed that payments made by successive administrations, particularly the administrations of former Governors Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu, covered less than 0.01 per cent of the gratuity owed to retirees who exited the service between 2011 and May 2023,” Kanu said.

Meanwhile, the Abia Government has denied claims that Governor Otti influenced the suspension of Professor of Economics Nnamdi Nwaeze from Abia State University, Uturu.

The Special Adviser to the Abia Governor on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, stated this at the Government House, Umuahia, on Monday while responding to questions from journalists about the controversy.

“The Governor will not get involved. The suspension of the lecturer has nothing to do with the state government,” Ekeoma stated.