- He hailed the state Governor Alex Otti for assenting to the bill repealing the pension law.
- The law stopped life pensions for former governors and deputy governors of the state.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says the abrogation of the Abia state law that provided ‘outrageous’ pension to the state former Governors and Deputy Governors is a tremendous move.
He hailed the state Governor Alex Otti for assenting to the bill repealing the pension law.
The law stopped life pensions for former governors and deputy governors of the state.
Speaking on Friday when he paid a visit to the governor in Nvosi Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area, Obasanjo said he hoped other governors would imitate Otti.
“I saw the repeal of Abia pensions of former governors; you said to me that the pension scheme for former governors here is too outrageous.
“It allows them to have a house in Abuja and elsewhere, and it allows them to cart away with whatever they can.
“Yet the pensions of ordinary people from 2014 are unpaid and you came and said there will be an end to that rascality.
“I congratulate you and I hope that your colleagues will follow your footstep,” Obasanjo said.
The former president told Otti that there is a lot of work to be done in the state and he should not allow himself to be distracted by the antics of his traducers and detractors.
“You have started well, but you should never be tired nor discouraged, because you will be abused and you will be called names.
“If we have one-third of our states doing what should be done, this country will be a different country,” Obasanjo said.
He urged the Abia governor to remain diligent and to pay adequate attention to infrastructure development.
According to Obasanjo, the people of Abia were industrious, adding that good leadership and good infrastructure would further incentivize them and boost their enterprising spirit.
“I have always maintained that if there’s any zone in this country that could really give what I call regional development, it’s the Southeast, because you are almost monolithic in everything,” he said.
Responding, Otti said that he strongly believed that infrastructure remains a key determinant for socio-economic growth.
He also said that the Abia government was intentional about developing infrastructure, particularly in Aba as the industrial hub of the Southeast.
“In the last nine months, we have completed and commissioned ten roads in Aba and at the moment we have about 31 roads that are in different stages of construction and completion,” he said.
Otti further thanked Obasanjo for supporting the decision of the state government to revoke the pension law for former governors and deputy governors