Mr. Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and Vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2019 elections, has revealed that he was moved to pay off the accumulated pension and gratuity debt totaling N35 billion, which his administration inherited from previous governments, because of the plight of the mostly elderly citizens who have been denied their earned benefits.
The former governor who’s a business mogul and pundit made the revelation during his appearance in an online event titled “Politics 101 with Peter Obi.”
Mr. Obi who since leaving office has become a favorite commentator on mainstream and online news platforms across Nigeria recalled the pains and cries of the elderly people of Anambra, who had served the state in various capacities but were not yet accorded their due financial benefits after retirement.
The scale of the accumulated problem compelled him to do something about the situation; to pay off the inherited debt in order to ameliorate the unnecessary sufferings imposed on these elderly citizens.
A devout Catholic, Obi noted that his Christian belief was a key factor why he heeded the cries of the elderly and ‘doing something about their plight’. In his trademark low, raspy voice, the former governor narrated the emotional story of an experience he had with an 80-year-old woman at a church where he had gone to pray.
Obi said, “One faithful day I went to church to pray. As a matter of personal policy, I do not allow my security men into the church with me because I know God is the ultimate protector and we are all one before God. As I knelt down in prayer, an 80-year-old woman, Mrs. Ndibe, of blessed memory, came and snatched my bible. She began to lament that she, just like many others, had not been paid her pensions and gratuity. She said God will not answer my prayers unless I paid them.
“I wanted to book a private appointment with her to discuss her complaints, she refused. Paying the accumulated gratuities and pensions was the only thing she wanted. I later paid her a visit in her house and we discussed further. She told me stories of her pains that moved me to tears. She recounted all she had passed through because she had not been paid her gratuity and pensions.”
Obi noted that this particular experience and others like it burdened his conscience so much so he had to act. The first step was the elimination of the backlog of debts and instituting a payment regime that guaranteed that monthly pensions and gratuities are paid on time.
As a lesson to public servants especially politicians in high administrative positions of authority, Obi urged them to always give listening ears to the plights of the people they’ve been elected or appointed to serve.
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