“Elekwachi is well known for being a paid agent. He alluded to this when he referenced the May day protest of 2018, they were paid to carry out protest, geared towards satisfying their masters”…. Obinna Oriaku replies.
By Chuks Isaiah
A 66-year-old pensioner, Mr Sunday Elekwachi has said that the reign of Chief Obinna Oriaku as commissioner for Finance led to the untimely death of many pensioners and their wives in Abia, God’s own state.
According to him, while some pensioners died out of hunger others gave up as a result of lack of fund to take care of their failing health, which had already become fragile following lack of pensions as they they were owed several months of unpaid pensions, despite series of biometric capturing conducted on them.
The pensioner therefore called on Chief Oriaku to apologize to Abians, especially pensioners, as coming out now to reveal how the N22 billion parish fund was spent cannot exonerate him as part of the people that plundered the state.
He was speaking, subsequent to the ongoing investigations of N22 billion Parish refund and its raging war in the state and the media .
But in a swift reaction to Elekwachi’s allegations, Chief Obinna Oriaku said that Elekwachi is well known for being a paid agent.
“He alluded to this when he referenced the May day protest of 2018. They were paid to carry out that protest, all geared towards satisfying their masters.
Explaining, he said that on inception of Okezie Ikpazu administration in 2015 , Pensioners were being owed several months of outstanding pensions.
“The system was characterized by fraud as we had 19 sub treasuries that were being used as payment points.This system was totally abused, hence the introduction of automation, centralization and biometric capturing of all pensioners which helped to bring sanity to the pension system .
According to him,the NUP was represented by late CN Udensi in the disbursement of the N22billion by the leadership of labour Unions in the state. Pensioners were not left out of that scheme as others beyond their late leader were part of the team, he stated and asked the repoter to reach out to Comrade Obigwe or Okoro of Joint council for affirmation.
He stated that he was known for introducing reforms aimed at restructuring the State, adding that two years after his exit, as Commissioner for finance, there are still huge arrears of pensions or increased number of outstanding months.
“This means that pension payment or management is not about the person in office as Commissioner but the system. It has proven that outstanding salaries in the state is not caused by the person on seat. Abia poly was 9 months when Obinna Oriaku was Commissioner but today it’s 27 months arrears. Secondary school teachers went on strike because of 5 months arrears but today its 17 months. Before 2019 election ABSUT workers wore black uniforms for 10 months arrears but today its about 22 months outstanding’, Oriaku said .
Pensioners, he said were being owed 11 months but today it’s much more than that, “don’t forget that when Obinna was Commissioner 2015 to 2019 the federal/ state and local government were sharing average of 380b to 400b monthly but in the last one year we have seen the allocation grow to 650b montly partly due to exchange rate”, he stated further.
“However, 2015 to 2019 has proven to be the glorious era of Dr Okezie administration. Within this period we had two major disruptions occasioned by Dr Alex Otis court judgement and Dr Uche Ogah and being in court for almost 4 years . It is clear that even with all these problems that era did better than what we have today in infrastructure and real governance issues in the State,he boasted.
“This reinforces what I have always advocated which is rigging and total collapse of the current template of governance in the state to enable the state move forward . Todays problem has nothing personal to do with the current Commissioner as if he had his way workers and pensioners will not be owed like we have it today
He advised Elekwachi to tell whoever sent him that today Abians have grown beyond being manipulated as they have seen that he, Obinna Oriaku, came with the best of the intentions, but the acclaimed owner of Abia refused to allow the reform process to continue, he concluded.
But, Earlier in his address, Elekwachi said that the former finance commissioner came too late to make his claims, declaring that Oriaku never told the pensioners the truth as far as he was concerned, because “he was part of the system.”
Elekwachi, who said that he is now battling with diabetes said the the ex-commissioner should have made the revelations when they mattered most.
“He should have resigned his appointment at the time of the Paris Club fiasco rather than hanging on to power till 2019 when he was flushed out of the system.
He alleged that under Oriaku’s reign as commissioner some pensioners died out of hunger and bad poor health, as they were owed several months of unpaid pensions, despite series of biometric capturing conducted on the fragile pensioners.
He prayed to God to judge all those who persecuted pensioners, adding that he was speaking as a pensioner who suffered and is still suffering from the system.
“Even to manage my health issue is now difficult because drugs are costly. I remember that during May Day workers’ day celebration two or three years ago, we pensioners marched around Ibeku High school field weeping, and called upon God to expose all those withholding our money. I remember that, that man Oriaku was among those we presented to God, and God has started answering our prayers.
He said that if not for his son who is working in a construction company in Abuja, who sends him some money every month , and his 56-year-old wife who now frequents Ndoru market to sell fruits, he would would n’t be alive today, I would have died of hunger and sickness after serving my father land for 35 years”, Elekwachi lamented.
He described all that is going on in the Media today with regards to the N22 Billion Parish fund as cork and bull stories “because they are still owing us many months of unpaid pensions.
“He should tell us what they did with our money, he demanded.”
