Governor Lawal clears N9bn gratuity owed to Zamfara retirees
Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal has announced the payment of N9,357,743,281.35 in gratuities owed to state workers since 2011. This significant move follows his approval for the commencement of backlog payments in February this year, aiming to address the long-standing issue of unpaid gratuities for retired civil servants in the state.
In a detailed statement issued in Gusau, the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, revealed that the government has successfully paid retired state workers N4,860,613,699.22 in nine separate batches. Furthermore, an additional N4,497,129,582.13 has been settled for local government workers.
Governor Lawal emphasized his commitment to reforming the Zamfara state civil service, which led to the establishment of a verification committee in February to authenticate pensioners who had not received their gratuities since 2011. According to the statement, 2,666 out of 3,880 verified pensioners have received their total gratuity entitlements, amounting to N4,860,613,699.22, benefiting those who retired between 2015 and 2024.
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For local government and primary school teachers, 3,840 out of 4,804 verified retirees have received their payments across nine batches, totaling N4,497,129,582.13. The outstanding amount owed for local government gratuities was reported to be N5,688,230,607.20, of which N4,497,129,582.13 has already been paid.
In summary, the state government has thus far cleared a combined total of N9,357,743,281.35 in gratuities, which is part of a larger cumulative sum of N13,784,179,513.80 owed to a total of 6,506 verified retired beneficiaries out of 8,684 in total. The beneficiaries of these payments are retirees from 2011 to 2024.
