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Abia State
The Abia State Government continues to peddle a narrative riddled with misinformation regarding the state’s debt profile in an attempt to uphold a façade of underperformance, rather promoting a house of cards built on propaganda than facts.

While most states celebrated May Day by honoring the contributions of workers, the situation in Abia was a stark contrast. As the Abia State Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman Comrade Okoro rightly pointed out, Abia workers remain among the most marginalised and dehumanised in the country. Despite the national implementation of the new minimum wage over a year ago, many local government environmental workers, Health workers, Teachers, and Abia State University (ABSU) staff are still being paid as little as N30,000.minimum wage by Abia State Government.

Governor Alex Otti’s administration has continued to display a troubling pattern of anti-worker policies. In 2023, all permanent secretaries were dismissed, directors with over eight years of service were sacked , and over 15,000 legitimately employed civil servants mostly young Abians were abruptly sacked. To this day, no clear explanation has been provided for these draconian actions. Instead of addressing these injustices, the government used this year’s Workers’ Day to make references to dismissals that occurred as far back as 2012, completely ignoring the plight of those unjustly sacked in 2023 under his own watch, many of whom are suffering in silence.

Pensioners have not been spared either. They were pressured to forfeit their hard-earned pensions and gratuities, a demand they rightly and firmly rejected.

With little in terms of tangible achievement as the administration enters its third year, Governor Otti has shifted focus to debt repayment claims, framing it as a major success. However, this narrative is built on selective disclosure. By focusing solely on domestic debt and excluding external obligations, the government has created a misleading picture of Abia’s true debt burden.

To set the record straight, Abia State’s total public debt includes:

1. Domestic Debt: Outstanding pensions, gratuities, unpaid salaries, contractor payments, and inter-governmental obligations.
2. External Debt: Loans and credit facilities from international partners and financial institutions, whose repayment timelines span many years.

Contrary to claims of having cleared arrears, over 30% of pensioners are reportedly not captured in the state’s database and remain unpaid. Under its Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy, the government assumed the responsibility of paying pensions for institutions such as ABSU, Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), and the College of Education. Yet, nearly two years later, beneficiaries have not received a kobo. So where, exactly, is the much-publicised debt repayment?

Even the gratuities remain untouched ,as last fully paid gratuity was as at 2003, Today , many pensioners being forced to forfeit their entitlements. Why, then, the self-congratulations?

The administration has also failed to settle verified debts owed to contractors from previous administrations. Can Governor Otti point to even one contractor from the T.A. Orji or Okezie Ikpeazu era who has been paid? If the claimed N72 billion debt repayment was real, these liabilities should have been part of it.

Furthermore, arrears owed to institutions like ABSU, the Hospital Management Board (HMB), and ABSUTH remain fully unpaid. Yet, in its quarterly submissions to the Debt Management Office (DMO) in Abuja, the government lists these obligations as cleared. This is deceitful.

The crux of Abia’s debt lies in its external debt, which is outside the jurisdiction of the DMO in Umuahia. For example, the state recently signed onto the World Bank-supported RAAMP initiative with the flag-off of the 19.2km Itukpa–Umuoba Road worth over £60m, further increasing Abia’s external debt profile.

It’s critical to note that domestic debt figures submitted to the DMO in Abuja originate from the state itself. A manipulative administration can submit falsified or unrealistic reports an allegation that increasingly seems applicable to Abia under the current leadership. The only true indicators of repayment are the testimonies of pensioners, workers, and contractors those still waiting to be paid.

While states like Imo, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Anambra have started paying gratuities dating as far back as 2005 due to increased FAAC allocations, Abia continues to politicize the salaries and pensions of its workforce. In Katsina State, N24 billion was committed to gratuity payments just last year, showing that where there’s will, there’s a way.

Moreover, old external debts inherited from the defunct Imo State have ballooned due to recalibration at current exchange rates, quadrupling their value in naira terms.

Abia is also on the verge of receiving a $115 million Islamic Development Bank loan processed by previous administrations through the African Development Finance Bank (ADFB). This loan, denominated in U.S. dollars, will significantly increase the state’s debt due to repayments being tied to fluctuating exchange rates.

It is time for the Otti-led government to stop deceiving the public with doctored figures and imaginary successes. Bragging about non-borrowing as a badge of honour is out of touch, especially when the state receives over N22 billion monthly in federal allocations.

Even states like Anambra, Ebonyi, Rivers, and Akwa Ibom despite not borrowing are executing transformative projects that far surpass the patchwork infrastructure currently on display in Abia.

What is conveniently forgotten is that at the inception of this administration, it engaged in contractor-financed borrowing, which was only repaid once monthly allocations increased due to the removal of fuel subsidies and the floating of the naira.

Let us stop celebrating propaganda. The truth is clear: Abians deserve better.

 

Written by By Obinna Oriaku

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