The party claims the state government inflated gratuity liabilities by over ₦3.4 billion and is defrauding retirees through propaganda.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State has accused Governor Alex Otti’s administration of fraudulently padding pension and gratuity figures, alleging that the government is deceiving Abians through inflated liability claims.
In a statement signed by the APC Publicity Secretary, Uche Aguoru, the party commended the government for commencing efforts to pay gratuities to retirees but raised serious concerns over discrepancies in the figures being bandied about .
The APC claimed that according to records from the pensions office, the total gratuity obligation to the state as of December 2021 was ₦3.8 billion, yet the current administration claims to have paid ₦7.2 billion between 2001 and 2010. The party questioned where the excess ₦3.4 billion came from.
“Where did the Abia State Government manufacture the data with which it claimed to have paid ₦7.2 billion between 2001 and 2010?” the APC queried. “The total gratuity obligation to the state as of December 2021 was ₦3.8 billion. So, where did they manufacture the excess ₦3.4 billion from?” .
CDA News Nigeria gathered that the government had previously announced the commencement of payment of N61.8 billion in gratuity arrears to retirees who served between 2001 and 2010 . According to the Gratuity Committee report, the liability was broken down as follows: N7.2 billion accrued between 2001 and 2010, N43.6 billion between 2011 and May 2023, and N10.9 billion from May 2023 to date .
The APC alleged the government had previously forced retirees to sign off on their gratuities before rushing to the media to claim they had been paid. “It is on record that two years ago, Governor Otti announced to the world that he had cleared all the backlog of arrears owed to retirees… until the retirees themselves came out to tell their stories of how they were allegedly scammed and wickedly forced to sign-off their gratuities,” the party stated .
The party further claimed that a prominent staff member of the pension office reportedly resigned because she refused to be part of the alleged padding arrangement. “The APC is deeply worried because, as of today, so many pensioners who fall within the category the Otti government claims to have paid have yet to receive their gratuities,” the statement added .
The APC demanded that the state government publish the names and amounts paid to retirees, arguing that if the government has genuinely paid, there should be no difficulty in providing payment records. The party also called on the government to ensure transparency and accountability in the administration of pensions and gratuities.
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