Abia former government pension removal is unnecessary and we never profited—Kalu and others
The Abia State Governor’s and Deputy Governor’s Pensions Law number 4 of 2021 has been repealed by the Abia State House of Assembly.
According to a major officer of the House of Assembly, the former governors were covered by the repealed statute in a number of areas, including security, medical care, cooking, and stewardship.
The officer stated that the current governor will decide the pension amount, which is lifelong, and that “the state government will pay the family an amount equal to the deceased annual salary upon death.” The government bears the cost of all of these.
But previous state legislators and governors, like as Okezie Ikpeazu, Theodore Orji, and Orji Uzor Kalu, have disapproved of the bill, claiming that none of them had been getting pensions.
“As a former governor of the state, T. A. Orji did not pay him (Kalu) a dime as pension and Okezie Ikpeazu continued in the same manner,” stated one of Kalu’s aides in response to the Assembly’s decision.
Ifeanyi Umere, Theodore Orji’s liaison officer, also stated that the former governor was not getting a pension.
“In his eight years as the governor of Abia, T. A. Orji has not received a single penny in pension,” he declared, urging the state Assembly to produce any relevant documentation.
Ikpeazu also voiced his anger with the bill, calling it “mischievously couched to give the false impression that Dr. Ikpeazu is among the former governors of the state currently receiving a pension from the Abia State Government” and “obviously sponsored.”
The majority leader and representative for the Arochukwu State Constituency, Mr. Okoro Uchenna Kalu, was the bill’s sponsor. It was named “H.A.B 11, The Abia State Governor’s and Deputy Governor’s Pensions Law Repeal Bill 2024.”
The measure’s passage was announced by Speaker Chief Emmanuel Emeruwa, who thanked his colleagues for their cooperation and understanding and said the bill was in keeping with the desires of the majority.
The bill’s author and majority leader, Mr. Okoro Kalu, led the floor debate. He characterized the legislation as timely and said it would assist lower the cost of governance, free up cash for state development, and improve the welfare of the vast majority of people.
“The attention of the immediate past Governor of Abia State, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has been drawn to reports circulating online to the effect that the Abia State House of Assembly has repealed the 2001 law under which former governors and deputy governors are paid some money as pension,” however, stated Ikpeazu’s spokeswoman, Ememanka, in a statement on Wednesday.
The aforementioned claims, which are clearly sponsored, are cunningly worded to create the false impression that Dr. Ikpeazu is one of the past state governors who is currently collecting a pension from the Abia State Government.
“Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu wants to be very clear that he has never solicited nor received any money under any pretense whatsoever from the Abia State Government, and he has no intention of doing so, since he turned over the reins of power as Governor of Abia State on May 29, 2023.
Former governor Ikpeazu has since moved on with his life and is pursuing interests in other fields. He counsels the Abia State Government and its various institutions to focus on governance and to stop creating unnecessary sensationalism in the media.
The most recent Deputy Governor, Ude Oko Chukwu, also spoke and claimed, “Nobody has given me a dime.” I know what the law is. The law is as good as nonexistent in my opinion. What use does the law serve, given that every previous governor has claimed they have never received compensation?
In the meantime, Chief Augustine Okezie, the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Information and Deputy Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, has praised his colleagues for expediting the hearing and passing of the Abia State Governor’s and Deputy Governor’s Pensions Law Repeal Bill, 2024.
The Deputy Speaker, who had supported the bill’s approval during plenary, stated immediately after it was passed that the choice represented the desires of the people of Abia State.
The House representative for Umuahia East State Constituency, Okezie, also praised Governor Alex Otti, who stands to gain from the legislation, for refraining from meddling in the proceedings.
