Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has assured that provisions have been made for payment of pensions to the next of kin of deceased pensioners, saying that his administration is committed to doing the needful.

The governor, who gave the assurance at the August media chat, noted that the government has commenced the payment of outstanding gratuity for the senior citizens who have retired between the years of 2001 and 2010.

“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 N60 billion. And we are undertaking to clear those gratuities gradually,” the governor said.

He explained that the state government is putting the necessary structures in place to address pension issues permanently in the state.

“Just last month, we rolled out a contributory pension scheme for over 36,000 workers in the state.

“So 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 that they forward to you,” he stated.

Governor Otti announced that the state’s Citizens’ Engagement Centre will soon be officially opened, saying the centre will allow residents to ask questions, make observations, and contribute ideas on government policies.

In the area of education, he disclosed that his administration is reconstituting the Secondary Education Management Board (SEMB) to handle all matters relating to secondary education management across the state.

The Governor also informed that his government has successfully engaged 4,074 new teachers to fill in the gaps noticed, after the first recruitment of 5,394 teachers.

He added, “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 upgrade of the tertiary institutions,” Gov. Otti stated.

On healthcare, Governor Otti reaffirmed his government’s focus on quality and affordable healthcare services. He noted that Abia was recently rated number one in healthcare affordability and third in healthcare quality in the 2026 Phillips Consulting State Performance Index in Nigeria.

He said the government would continue to drive reforms aimed at improving healthcare delivery in the state and emphasised that his administration would keep working to deliver people-centred policies and programmes to improve the quality of life of Abians while promoting transparency, accountability, and sustainable development across the state.

While apologising to ABSU staff over the bureaucratic delay in implementing their demands, which he had approved and vowed that heads will roll.

He announced that a new substantive Vice Chancellor for the State University will assume office in November 2026, as the tenure of the incumbent VC will end in October.

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