• Otti to settle all pension arrears this month
Governor Alex Otti of Abia State has said that the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved a loan of $125 million to finance some of the capital projects in the state.
The governor made this known, on Monday, during the monthly media parley in Umuahia. He also disclosed that the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved another loan for the state.
According to him, the loans have not been drawn yet, but approvals are in place. The governor explained that the next line of action would be the perfection of documentation, loan agreement signed and conditions to be met.
He said that the government had received offers of loans from commercial banks in the country, but was yet to draw from any of them.
Otti said: “Of course, we are also financially enlightened as a government that we do not need to draw loans until we need them.
“Any time we have liquidity, we will repay so that we don’t continue to accumulate interest.”
Otti, a member of the Labour Party (LP), denied recent allegations by a major opposition party, accusing the government of securing N1.5 billion loan, saying: “they were lies.”
The governor disclosed that the state government had just approved bursary awards for all students of Abia origin in different law schools in the country.
He said that the bursary awards were prior to requests by the students.
MEANWHILE, Otti, on Monday, again raised pensioners’ hope when he announced that all arrears owed to them will be settled by the end of this month (March).
He said this during his monthly media parley at the Government House, Umuahia, tagged, ‘Governor Otti Speaks to Abians,’ reiterating that his passionate promise for upward review of workers’ salaries still stands, but pending when the funds become available, as a special committee on this has been set up.
He said: “I have not withdrawn my promise to increase workers’ salary, but implementing it would depend on availability of funds; hence, a committee has been working on it.”
Recall that the governor, on assumption of office in May 2023, pledged to settle arrears of workers’ salaries and pensions by end of December 2023, but later extended it to first quarter of 2024 for all that were necessary, including biometric capturing of all workers and the verification of pensioners to establish their actual number.
