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Pensioners in Abia State, Nigeria, are speaking out against what they claim is a grave injustice. The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Abia State chapter, alleges that documents signed by them, forfeiting their gratuities and 45 months of pensions, were actually written by aides to Governor Alex Otti, rather than the pensioners themselves.

Despite acknowledging that Governor Otti cleared pension arrears from June 2023 to March 2024, which had accumulated under the present administration, the NUP Abia chapter disputes the governor’s claim to have cleared ten years of pensions arrears. The union’s chairman, Chukwuemeka Irondi, asserts that there is no basis for this claim in the union’s records.

The pensioners are calling for a serious review of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), specifically article 7 (a) and (b), which they claim was written by state government agents. According to the NUP, using the union’s executives and pensioners as scapegoats to attract national and international grants for selfish reasons would be a disservice and hypocritical.

Irondi alleged that aides to the governor tricked the union executives into submitting the union’s letterhead, which was then used to write the Memorandum of Agreement. He explained that the delay in speaking out was due to the fact that the union’s lawyer needed time to review the controversial document and advise them on their next course of action.

Furthermore, the NUP executives allege that Abia State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ikechuckwu Uwanna, was instructed by the governor to intimidate and query the pensioners into accepting the state government’s position.

“My people are still crying, and what is due to them has not been paid. We are not satisfied, and nobody is happy,” Irondi said. “We never discussed gratuities or waiving of enrollments, including pensions and gratuities. Nobody has the authority to impose the waiving of gratuities on Abia pensioners for any reason.”

The NUP Abia chapter remains resolute in their demands for a review of the Memorandum of Agreement and seeks justice for their members.