Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has commended Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, for repealing the law that allowed former governors and their deputies to collect pensions.
He admonished other state governors to emulate Otti to reduce the cost of governance.
The former President spoke during a courtesy visit to Otti at the Governor’s country home in Nvosi, Isialangwa South Local Government Area.
He congratulated the Governor for ending the pension to former governors and former deputy governors which he described as daylight robbery.
“The pension scheme for former governor here is atrocious, it’s like daylight robbery because it allows them to have a house in Abuja and elsewhere and cart away with whatever they feel like carting away yet the pension for ordinary people is unpaid, what sort of leadership is that?
And you came and you said there will be an end to that rascality. I congratulate you and I say to you that I hope that some of your colleagues will follow in your footsteps. You have started but you should never be tired.
“You will be discouraged, you will be abused, you will be called names but if we have one-third of our states doing what should be done this country will be a different country and you are doing what should be done,” Obasanjo said.
The former President, who passed a vote of confidence on Otti, acknowledging his developmental strides which have restored public confidence in the government, urged him to pay more attention to infrastructure, describing the people of Abia State as enterprising.
“I will urge you that you pay adequate attention to infrastructure because if you give infrastructure and you give the type of leadership you are giving now, the people of this state have nothing to worry about because they are enterprising on their own.”
Otti thanked the former President for commending him on the repeal of the pension law and assured him that his administration was focused on providing infrastructure for the people of the state.
“There is not much we can do if we don’t focus on infrastructure and part of infrastructure is power. In fact it is the most important infrastructure for industrialisation, production, manufacturing and even small and medium-scale enterprises.
“So, I want to also thank you for supporting our decision to repeal the pension law for former governors and former deputy governors. I had said yesterday as I signed the bill into law that I strongly believe that leadership is stewardship and if you come to serve the people, you can’t at the same time be fleecing the people,” Otti said.
The Abia State House of Assembly on Tuesday passed into law, H.A.B 11: A Bill for a ‘Law to Repeal The Abia State Governors & Deputy Governors Pensions Law No 4 of 2001 and for other Matters Connected Therewith’ sponsored by the Majority Leader and member representing Arochukwu State Constituency Okoro Uchenna Kalu.
The passage of the bill followed its first and second readings, the consideration by the committee of the whole before its 3rd reading during Tuesday’s plenary at the hallowed chamber.
Following the passage of the Bill by the lawmakers, Governor Otti on Thursday signed it into law.