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From Uchenna Inya, Abakaliki
The Ebonyi State government has described the donation of ₦7m by the 2027 governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Chief Ifeanyi Odii, to the retired workers at the state university, EBSU, as a political contest and partisan propaganda.
Odii had last week announced a donation of ₦7 million to the university’s retired workers who have been lamenting untold hardship as a result of non-payment of their pensions and gratuity since they retired from the institution.
But addressing journalists in Abakaliki, the state capital at the weekend, the state Commissioner for Information, Chief Ikeuwa Omebeh, said the State Government welcomes every genuine intervention aimed at alleviating the difficulties of elderly citizens, including retired workers, but that the plight of EBSU retirees should not be reduced to a political contest or used as an opportunity for partisan propaganda.
He described a donation of ₦100,000 to an individual retiree as humanitarian assistance and not the payment of that retiree’s pension or gratuity, stating that the two are fundamentally different matters.
“Pension and gratuity claims require proper verification of service records, determination of legitimate entitlements, identification of the responsible institution or authority, and compliance with applicable financial and legal procedures.
“It is therefore important that the public is not misled into believing that the payment of ₦7 million to 216 persons constitutes settlement of their outstanding retirement benefits.
“The recent public discussion concerning EBSU retirees follows appeals by members of the retirees’ association who have alleged that some of their pension and gratuity claims remain outstanding.
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“The Government consequently believes that the appropriate response is to establish the facts concerning each claimant rather than politicise the issue.
“It is also important to place the present debate within the wider record of the State Government’s intervention on retirement benefits.
“There is no gainsaying the fact that Ebonyi State Government is one of the few states that have not only shown disposition but practically handled matters of workers’ welfare and retirees’ benefits with unrivalled and honest disposition, leading to the approval of payment of pension and gratuity arrears both to State and Local Government retirees covering the period from 1996 to date, with a structured verification and payment process.
“Furthermore, in January 2026, the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation reported the Ebonyi Government’s position that arrears of pensions and gratuities for retirees from the creation of the State had been cleared.
“These documented interventions demonstrate that pension and gratuity matters have received government attention.
“They do not, however, automatically establish that every individual claim made by an EBSU retiree has been settled. That is precisely why the specific EBSU claims should be properly verified and addressed on their merits.
“EBSU retirees deserve solutions, not political theatre. The retirees concerned are elderly men and women who served the institution and deserve to have legitimate claims treated with dignity and urgency.
“Their concerns should therefore be addressed through a structured process involving the appropriate authorities, the university management, the retirees’ representatives and relevant government agencies,” Omebeh said.
