The Abia Pensioners' Forum, a pressure group within the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), has disowned a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between the state government and NUP leadership, which requires pensioners to forfeit their gratuities and a percentage of their pension arrears.

The pensioners are demanding the full payment of their pension arrears and gratuities.

At a press conference in Umuahia, the group's coordinator, Okey Kanu, alleged that pensioners were shortchanged in the calculation and payment of pension arrears owed by previous administrations. They commended Governor Alex Otti for his decision to pay debts owed by his predecessors but pleaded with him to pay the full arrears and not part.

The group accused both the government and NUP leadership of shrouding the MoA in secrecy and queried why the government would negotiate with vulnerable pensioners who were deprived and famished over the years. They urged Governor Otti to cancel the MoA and reinstate their unpaid pension arrears and gratuities.

In response, Commissioner for Information Prince Okey Kanu said it was unfair for a splinter group among pensioners to reciprocate the government's kind gestures with blackmail instead of appreciation. He stated that the payment was "full and final" and that the government was open to further engagements with pensioners but through their leadership, not a splinter group.