16 August 2026
CEHRAWS SUBMISSION ON PENSION, GRATUITY, WORKERS’ WELFARE, AND ACCOUNTABILITY IN ABIA STATE
”Infrastructure is Development; But Human Welfare is the Purpose of Government”
The Centre for Human Rights Advocacy and Wholesome Society (CEHRAWS) acknowledges the visible efforts of the administration of Governor Alex Chioma Otti in rebuilding infrastructure, improving urban sanitation, opening up previously inaccessible communities and strengthening the fiscal position of Abia State.
We equally acknowledge that the present administration inherited significant liabilities, including pension and gratuity obligations accumulated over several administrations.
However, good governance is not measured only by kilometres of roads constructed, bridges rehabilitated, buildings completed or the cleanliness of our cities. Government ultimately exists for the welfare, dignity and security of human beings.
It is therefore in the public interest that the administration’s record on the welfare of pensioners, retirees, public servants, and university lecturers be subjected to the same standard of transparency and accountability expected in every other area of governance.
1. INHERITED DEBT IS AN EXPLANATION, NOT AN EXTINGUISHMENT OF LIABILITY
Governor Otti was correct when he reportedly acknowledged that government is a continuum and that liabilities handed over by a previous administration remain the responsibility of the succeeding government.
That principle is fundamental to constitutional governance.
A change of government does not cancel the legitimate obligations of the State. Neither does the passage of time convert a lawful entitlement into a favour.
The distinction must therefore be made between current obligations and inherited obligations.
If current pensions are now being paid as and when due, that is commendable. But regular payment of current pensions does not, by itself, amount to settlement of historic pension arrears.
Similarly, if government verification has established gratuity liabilities exceeding ₦60 billion, those liabilities cannot simply disappear because they originated before the present administration.
The real question is therefore no longer whether the liabilities exist.
The more important question is:
What is the credible, transparent and time-bound mechanism for liquidating them?
2. THE CONSTITUTION PLACES WELFARE AT THE HEART OF GOVERNMENT
Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), declares that “the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.”
This is not merely political rhetoric. It is a constitutional statement of the philosophy of governance.
Section 16(2)(d) further directs the State towards ensuring that old-age care and pensions are provided for citizens, while section 17 requires a social order founded on freedom, equality and justice and directs government policy towards just and humane conditions of work, protection of workers’ welfare and protection of the aged against exploitation and material neglect.
We recognise that many of these provisions occur in Chapter II and are not ordinarily enforceable in the same manner as the fundamental rights in Chapter IV. Section 6(6)(c) imposes an important constitutional limitation in this regard.
But non-justiciability is not the same thing as irrelevance.
These provisions constitute constitutional standards against which democratic governance should be measured. They are particularly important when assessing whether public policy is genuinely people-centred.
The government cannot therefore reasonably celebrate the implementation of constitutional obligations concerning roads and infrastructure while treating the welfare of retired citizens as an afterthought.
3. GRATUITY IS NOT CHARITY
CEHRAWS is particularly concerned about the historic gratuity burden reportedly dating back to 2001.
For a person who has worked for the State for decades, gratuity is not a political gift. It is an earned retirement entitlement arising from the terms and conditions of service applicable to that person’s employment.
A retiree should not have to become a permanent petitioner before receiving what became due to him or her upon retirement.
We therefore welcome the reported verification exercise undertaken with the Nigerian Union of Pensioners.
But verification must be followed by implementation.
If the verified liability is indeed above ₦60 billion, government should publish, subject to legitimate privacy considerations:
✓ the aggregate verified liability;
✓ the number of verified beneficiaries;
✓ the categories and years covered;
✓ the payment methodology;
✓ the annual budgetary provision for liquidation;
✓ the proposed payment sequence; and
✓ a realistic timetable for completion.
This is what transparency looks like.
A vague assurance that payments will be made “gradually” or “in phases” is welcome as a commitment, but insufficient as a public accountability mechanism.
4. THE ELDERLY MUST NOT BECOME THE CASUALTIES OF FISCAL PRIORITISATION
CEHRAWS does not oppose infrastructure.
Indeed, we commend legitimate infrastructure development.
But development cannot be reduced to concrete, asphalt and streetlights.
The elderly citizen who spent 25 or 30 years serving Abia is also part of the infrastructure of the State.
They built institutions, taught children, maintained public services, administered government and contributed their productive years to the development of the State.
When such citizens retire, the State’s obligation to them does not retire.
The International Labour Organization’s Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), recognises the primary responsibility of the State for social protection and identifies basic income security for older persons as a core social protection guarantee. It also emphasises adequacy, predictability, transparency, accountability and respect for collective bargaining and freedom of association.
These principles provide an important international benchmark for evaluating public policy.
5. THE PROMISED MONTHLY STIPEND FOR OLDER CITIZENS REQUIRES CLARITY
The administration’s earlier commitment to provide monthly stipends for older citizens is commendable in principle.
But promises to vulnerable citizens must be matched by fiscal realism.
Government should therefore tell Abians:
How will the proposed elderly stipend be financed alongside the liquidation of the existing gratuity liability?
There is no contradiction between supporting elderly citizens through a social protection programme and paying their outstanding employment entitlements.
But government must publish a sustainable financing framework so that one legitimate welfare obligation does not become an excuse for postponing another.
The ILO’s social protection framework specifically emphasises financial sustainability while simultaneously requiring adequate and predictable social protection.
6. THE PROFESSOR NNAMDI NWAEZE MATTER SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED, NOT SIMPLY PUNISHED
The allegations reportedly raised by Prof. Nnamdi Nwaeze concerning staff welfare at Abia State University are sufficiently serious to warrant independent examination.
We emphasise carefully:
CEHRAWS does not declare those allegations proven.
But neither should the State or university authority treat them as irrelevant merely because they were made publicly or by a serving employee.
If the allegations concerning the continued application of an old salary structure, unpaid earned allowances, deductions allegedly not remitted to staff cooperative structures, taxation, and failure to implement appropriate salary adjustments for promoted staff are false, the easiest and most credible response is to produce the records.
Open the books.
If the university is paying lecturers what their legally applicable conditions of service require, let the documentary evidence establish it.
If the university is not, then the appropriate response is correction rather than retaliation.
The principle is simple:
A disciplinary proceeding against the messenger does not answer the message.
The allegations should therefore be subjected to an independent administrative and financial audit involving the university authority, ASUU-ABSU, relevant government officials and, where necessary, independent labour and financial experts.
7. MUTATIS MUTANDIS CANNOT MEAN SELECTIVE APPLICATION OF WORKERS’ RIGHTS
CEHRAWS equally supports the legitimate demand for equitable treatment of university lecturers.
Where the State has validly adopted conditions of service or entered into agreements applicable to its public university employees, those obligations should be honoured.
Where federal standards are being used as the benchmark for comparable university staff, the State should transparently explain any material differences in remuneration and conditions of service.
The principle of mutatis mutandis, applying the same principle with necessary modifications to the relevant circumstances, should not become a slogan for selective implementation.
The proper test should be:
What is the applicable law, agreement, condition of service or approved policy, and is the State complying with it?
If the answer is yes, publish the evidence.
If the answer is no, correct the breach.
That is how a government builds institutional trust.
8. ASUU AND TRADE UNIONS ARE NOT ENEMIES OF GOVERNMENT
The existence of ASUU, JUSUN and other trade unions is not evidence of hostility towards government.
Trade unions are part of democratic industrial relations.
International labour standards recognise freedom of association, collective bargaining and social dialogue as fundamental components of decent work and social protection. The ILO’s Social Protection Floors Recommendation expressly calls for respect for collective bargaining and freedom of association.
Consequently, government should not regard every criticism from a union or employee as an attack on its authority.
A confident government should be capable of distinguishing between subversion and legitimate criticism; indiscipline and whistleblowing; misinformation and uncomfortable truth.
9. GOOD GOVERNANCE MUST BE MEASURED BY HOW GOVERNMENT TREATS THE VULNERABLE
CEHRAWS rejects the idea that because a government inherited a problem, it should be shielded indefinitely from scrutiny over that problem.
Equally, we reject the opposite argument that every inherited problem should have been solved immediately.
Both positions are unreasonable.
The proper democratic question is:
Is the government dealing with the problem transparently, progressively, fairly and according to a credible plan?
That is the standard.
The Otti administration deserves credit where credit is due.
But praise must never become a substitute for accountability.
Similarly, criticism must never become an excuse to deny genuine progress.
A mature democracy must be capable of doing both:
recognising progress and demanding accountability at the same time.
10. CEHRAWS’ DEMANDS
Against the foregoing background, CEHRAWS calls on the Abia State Government to:
1. Publish a verified schedule for the liquidation of the historic pension and gratuity liabilities, including the aggregate liability and number of verified beneficiaries.
2. Commence a clearly defined and publicly monitored gratuity payment programme, with identifiable annual targets rather than indefinite assurances.
3. Publish the budgetary provisions and financing strategy for the gratuity backlog, so that citizens can determine whether the proposed timetable is fiscally credible.
4. Establish a permanent Pensioners’ and Retirees’ Welfare Consultative Mechanism involving government, NUP and relevant civil society representatives.
5. Clarify the financing and implementation timetable for the proposed monthly stipend for older citizens, particularly in relation to the existing gratuity liabilities.
6. Commission an independent inquiry into the allegations raised by Prof. Nnamdi Nwaeze, including the issues concerning salaries, deductions, allowances, taxation and promotion-related entitlements.
7. Publish the applicable conditions of service for ABSU academic staff and the government’s position on implementation, allowing the public to independently assess competing claims.
8. Protect legitimate freedom of association and collective bargaining, while retaining the right of government to enforce lawful public-service disciplinary standards through fair and due process.
9. Institutionalise a transparent annual public accountability report on workers’ and retirees’ welfare, covering salaries, pensions, gratuities, deductions, allowances and outstanding liabilities.
CONCLUSION: ABIA DESERVES DEVELOPMENT WITH DIGNITY
CEHRAWS believes that Governor Alex Otti’s administration should not be judged solely by what it inherited or solely by what it has built.
It should ultimately be judged by how responsibly it manages both.
Roads matter.
Clean cities matter.
Schools matter.
Electricity matters.
But the pensioner waiting for gratuity matters too.
The lecturer waiting for his lawful entitlement matters.
The elderly citizen waiting for promised social protection matters.
And the ordinary Abian who pays taxes and expects government to account for every naira matters.
The Constitution’s conception of government is not government for infrastructure. It is government for the people.
Section 14(2)(b) places the security and welfare of the people at the centre of government. Sections 16 and 17 reinforce the constitutional commitment to social justice, humane working conditions, pensions, protection of the aged and public assistance.
International best practice goes further by insisting that social protection should be rights-based, predictable, adequate, transparent, accountable and financially sustainable, with the State carrying primary responsibility.
Therefore, CEHRAWS’ message to the Abia State Government is neither partisan nor hostile:
✓ Do not abandon the infrastructure agenda. But do not allow infrastructure to eclipse human welfare.
✓ Do not deny the inherited debt. But do not use inheritance as a permanent defence against accountability.
✓ Do not silence uncomfortable voices. Investigate the allegations and publish the facts.
And most importantly:
Let the next phase of Abia’s development be measured not only by the roads we build, but by the dignity we restore to those who spent their lives building Abia.
Signed:
Okoye, Chuka Peter
Executive Director, CEHRAWS
cehraws@gmail.com | +234(0)808-035-1242(WhatsApp only)
Facebook: @cehraws
