The controversy surrounding an alleged Memorandum of Understanding between the Abia State Government and the state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners regarding the forfeiture of pension arrears owed by past administrations has taken a more contentious turn.
While the government insists that an MOU was signed and has accused the NUP leaders of dishonesty, the NUP leadership has dismissed the claims, describing the supposed agreement as a product of coercion and an ambush. They have also labelled the government’s remarks as unfortunate.
At the heart of the dispute is the over 38 months of accumulated pension arrears inherited from previous administrations.
The NUP state Chairman, Chukwuemeka Irondi, has consistently accused the Alex Otti-led administration of imposing the agreement on pensioners during a late-night meeting at the Governor’s country home in Umuehim Nvosi, Isiala Ngwa South Council Area.
Irondi explained that the pensioners were invited to a meeting scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Governor’s residence, only to be kept waiting until 8 p.m., when a former Commissioner for Finance presented a document for them to sign under duress.
He expressed his apprehension, stating that he could not have refused to sign the document at that hour and location, as he was uncertain about the consequences of declining to append his signature.
Furthermore, he alleged that a female Special Adviser to the Governor had earlier requested the NUP’s letterhead, which the union’s secretary, Uma Kalu, unwittingly provided without suspicion.
Corroborating Irondi’s account, the NUP Secretary, Elder Uma Kalu, stated that the union’s executive committee met the following day and discovered what he described as a “rot” in the document. They immediately alerted the Commissioner and the Special Adviser to the situation.
The dispute has since taken a political dimension, with Governor Otti accusing the Peoples Democratic Party of backing the NUP leadership, pointing out that the union’s lawyer is a member of the PDP.
Irondi acknowledged that the Otti administration has been prompt in paying monthly pensions but maintained that the pensioners could not have willingly signed an agreement to forfeit their legitimate arrears under normal circumstances.
Reacting to the NUP leadership’s stance, Governor Otti, while addressing journalists in Umuahia, described the pensioners’ leaders as dishonest and vowed not to engage them in further negotiations.
He said, “Did you see that they signed the Memorandum of Agreement? I saw a newspaper report where they said they did not sign. So, you can see that we are dealing with a dishonest set of leaders. The pensioners are honest people, but their leaders are dishonest. We don’t reward dishonesty.
“If you made a mistake, don’t say I didn’t sign, don’t say I was deceived to sign. You went to school. Somebody was owing them. I never owed them. They kept quiet all the while, some for 10 years. And somebody comes out to say, I want to clear this backlog, and they were excited. I have told this story several times.
“Once you start from a dishonest point of view, I cannot deal with you. If you like, twist the question 100 times, I will not deal with you. I will not deal with them because they are very dishonest people. The pensioners are happy because they were paid.
“These people signed, they had walked away from everything. But I said no, it is not fair, out of my own magnanimity. But I’m not going to be discouraged because a few people are dishonest.
“I have investigated it and found that PDP is behind it. Their lawyer is a PDP lawyer. If they are not stupid, why would they hire somebody who owed them for 10 years to come and be disparaging somebody who offered to pay? Genuine pensioners are happy everywhere, but contractors who feel they can make money are not. I will not pay, I will not deal with them. I have finished with them. Since they have an option, why can’t they go to court? The question to ask them is: why did they not go to court in the last 10 years?
“We have sufficiently dealt with the matter. I will not deal with it again. If somebody is not happy that he is being paid 100 per cent pensions monthly, he should return the ones that he has been paid and continue wearing black.
“Let’s move on. Two days ago, I read a report in Vanguard Newspaper where they said they never signed anything. I said yes, we are getting there. Before now, they said they were deceived. Genuine pensioners have disowned them. They want me to call them to a negotiation, but I will never call them. They should return all they have collected and declare a dispute. Then, we deal with the dispute. You don’t collect money and turn back to say you don’t agree. It is dishonesty, and I don’t deal with dishonest people.”
Responding to Governor Otti’s remarks, Irondi described the Governor’s comments as unfortunate.
Speaking on a local radio station in Umuahia, Irondi stated that the NUP leadership was not dishonest but composed of responsible and experienced men.
He said, “I’m bleeding in my heart. I am not happy with what he said. We are not dishonest people; we are good people. We are not stupid; we are seasoned old men.
“Yes, we signed that which was pressed on us to sign by government officials. It is only a foolish man that will refuse to sign where he is asked to sign with a man holding a gun behind him at that hour of the night.”
He alleged that the agreement was forced upon them at the Governor’s residence by a former Commissioner for Finance.
At a briefing convened by Abians for Good Governance in Umuahia, Irondi reiterated that they were presented with a document to sign without being given the opportunity to review it.
He said, “Our situation is pathetic. We didn’t go to bargain with anybody. I was only invited to the Governor’s residence to hear what he had to say about the problem of pensioners in the state. That was on March 23, 2024. I was not invited to negotiate with anybody. Before that time, we had gone to the Governor several times and discussed extensively with him. We even thanked him for his concerns over our welfare.
“In that meeting, an already prepared agreement was imposed on us to sign. It was imposed on us because we did not come for any negotiation. We arrived there at 11 a.m. and were still there by some minutes after 8 p.m. Nobody talked to us. I accosted the former Commissioner for Finance on why the Governor had kept us waiting without anyone attending to us. Why were we invited? The ex-Commissioner said it was in the interest of the state.
“But recently, the Governor said we were given a document to go and study for over four days. He also said that we went through the document and signed it but later went back on the agreement. What a statement! The next morning, when we returned from the Governor’s residence, we read through and discovered the rot they put in the paper. We also called the former Commissioner for Finance to demand why he brought such a document for us to sign. But what he told us is not worthy to be said here.
“The document was given to us at 8 p.m. There was no room to read it, and they asked us to sign with the former Commissioner for Finance playing a bad role. The former Commissioner came with the document, placed it before me, and held it himself for me to sign. I’m over 70 years old. I realised that I may be in danger if I declined to sign the document at that ungodly hour.”
