Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has disclosed that his administration has so far committed N30 billion to offset salary and pension arrears inherited from previous administrations.
Governor Otti made the revelation on Thursday , during his address at the 2025 International Workers’ Day celebration held at the Umuahia Township Stadium.
He said the huge financial commitment was part of efforts to restore trust and productivity within the State Workforce.
“As you may recall, we are coming from a very bad place and had been battling to meet the burden of unpaid salary and pension arrears left by those who came before us.
“In the past 23 months, we have committed sums in excess of N30 billion to offset arrears and we are still not done.
The Governor emphasized that his administration remains committed to correcting past injustices, including addressing cases of workers dismissed for ethnic or political reasons.
He disclosed that the State Government is currently in discussion civil servants who were arbitrarily dismissed from the State civil service by the past government for reason of where they originally hailed from, not minding their immense contributions to the growth of the State.
“Our plan is to properly compensate them for the grave injustice done them and ultimately make things right with them.
“We must never be known as a State that discriminates against people on account of base sentiments and primordial political considerations”, Gov Otti stated.
The Governor who reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to prioritising workers’ welfare, highlighted the transformation of several government facilities, including the Nnamdi Azikiwe and New Secretariats in Umuahia, with improved power, water supply, and internet connectivity to enhance productivity.
He assured that under his watch, payment of salaries and pensions would remain prompt and would continue to be paid by or before the 28th of every month.
Governor Otti while noting that Abia was among the first states to implement the new National Minimum Wage, said the present administration is not just paying the N70,000 new minimum wage promptly and regularly but has introduced even higher wage rates for employees in the critical development sectors.
He highlighted other initiatives aimed at improving workers’ welfare to include infrastructure upgrades in Government offices, recruitment in the Education and Health sectors, and the rollout of a formal health insurance scheme targeted at Civil Servants.
Governor Otti promised continued engagement with labour leaders, stressing that all outstanding requests by the NLC and TUC would be addressed as resources permit.
“What I can, however, say immediately is that we shall continue to engage and interact with you as we work to build a state that responds to the needs of its present and future generations”.
Reacting to the theme of this year’s celebration, “Reclaiming the Civic Space in the Midst of Economic Hardship,” the Governor called for optimism despite current economic challenges, assuring that his government would continue to put workers at the centre of its development agenda.
Earlier in their joint address, the State Chairman Nigerian Labour Congress, Comrade Okoro Ogbonnaya and the State Chairman Trade Union Congress, Comrade Ihechi Eneogwe, commended Governor Otti for the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage, commitment to workers’ welfare, roll-out of the contributory pension scheme, among other strides recorded under the current administration.
The Union leaders however, raised concerns about several categories of workers yet to benefit from the new minimum wage, including environmental health officers, local government health workers, teachers, staff of ABSU and other agencies.
They appealed to the Governor to extend the wage implementation to all affected workers, address outstanding salary adjustments, resolve discrepancies in teachers’ salaries, and involve unions in the health insurance scheme rollout.
The Union leaders also called for government contribution to the pension scheme, provision of operational buses for labour unions, and an end to arbitrary tax deductions from workers’ salaries.
