Alex Otti, the governor of Abia State, has received praise from former president Olusegun Obasanjo for signing the Governors and Deputy Governors Pension Repeal Law.

Life pensions are no longer available for former and deputy governors of the state.

Obasanjo said it was the right choice and hoped other Nigerian governors would do the same during a visit with Governor Otti on Friday in the Nvosi Isiala Ngwa South Local Government Area.

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Despite the criticism and abuse, the former president advised Otti that there was still much work to be done in the state and that he shouldn’t give up.

He added that strong leadership and sufficient infrastructure will be powerful motivators for the Abia governor. Therefore, he urged him to continue being conscientious and to give infrastructure development more attention.

He said, “I saw the repeal of Abia pensions of former governors; you said to me that the pension scheme for former governors here is too outrageous.

“It allows them to have a house in Abuja and elsewhere, and it allows them to cart away with whatever they can.

“Yet the pensions of ordinary people from 2014 are unpaid and you came and said there will be an end to that rascality.

“I congratulate you and I hope that your colleagues will follow your footstep.

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“You have started well, but you should never be tired nor discouraged, because you will be abused and you will be called names.

“If we have one-third of our states doing what should be done, this country will be a different country.

“I have always maintained that if there’s any zone in this country that could really give what I call regional development, it’s the Southeast, because you are almost monolithic in everything.”

Otti responded by pointing out that infrastructure is still a significant factor in determining socioeconomic growth and that the Abia government has made a conscious effort to build infrastructure, especially in Aba, the Southeast region’s industrial center.

He said, “In the last nine months, we have completed and commissioned ten roads in Aba and at the moment we have about 31 roads that are in different stages of construction and completion.”

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