Abia State Governor-elect, Alex Otti of the Labour Party, has assured the citizens of the state that his administration will pay salaries and pensions the incumbent administration owes civil servants and pensioners.
Mr Otti gave the assurance in his acceptance speech on Wednesday after he was declared the winner of the March 18 gubernatorial election.
He said: “With deep humility and a profound sense of responsibility, I wholeheartedly accept your mandate to be your chief servant for the next four years. Before I go on, I must first dedicate this victory to God the Father Almighty, who makes everything beautiful in His own time.
“I also dedicate it to the millions of Abia citizens who have been the unfortunate victims of bad governance these past decades.”
Mr Otti expressed gratitude to the residents, including indigenes and non-indigenes, that took part in his election.
“As you are all aware, this was my third attempt at contesting for this office, in my quest to implement my long-held vision of rebuilding Abia as truly God’s own state.
“At this third attempt, it pleased God to give us victory,” stated the governor-elect. “In the words of one Labour Party stalwart, ‘The siege is over!’”
He added: “With our votes and the collective will of the people, we have ‘broken the gates of hell and cast its bars of iron asunder’. As recorded in the holy book, the kingdom of hell shall not prevail against us.”
“I made a firm promise to all civil servants and pensioners owed salaries, pensions and emoluments that an immediate payment plan would be put in place to ensure that this gets the priority it deserves. Nevertheless, I caution that we all will need to put in our best and row together in one direction.
“We therefore plead for patience and understanding as we first tackle the immediate challenges and work on the major ones. We remain resolute in our drive to eliminate poverty and create sustainable wealth for our people.
“Our doors will remain wide open and our channels of communication will remain unfettered so that your worthy contributions and suggestions will be a guiding light.”
