Nasarawa requires over N40bn to clear backlog of gratuity, says Gov. Sule

Gov. Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa has said that the state requires over N40 billion in order to clear the backlog of gratuity to its pensioners.

Sule disclosed this on Thursday in Lafia during a media chat to mark his one year in office.

He said that his administration was committed to the welfare of pensioners in order to improve on their standard of living.

“My administration is committed to the welfare of pensioners and other civil servants in order to better their lot.

“Over N40 billion is needed by the state government to clear the backlog of gratuity to pensioners in the state.

“I have always had that in my mind as we are hoping and praying that we will have money to pay,” he said.

He noted that the issue of payment of gratuity had been a huge liability for the state since its creation due to paucity of funds.

“It is not only Nasarawa State that is having the challenge, but several other states in the country,” he said.

He, however, said that his administration had prioritise the full payment of salary to the state workers as well as pensions.

“It’s my believe that when you work, you must be paid.

“For the state workers, we are paying 100 per cent salary and pensioners.

Sule urged the state local government council chairmen to look inwards in order to improve on their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to be able to pay full salary.

“For workers at the local government, as we are all aware that there is an autonomy in the local government.

“The truth is that the local government areas do not have the money, but I will continue to partner with them towards improving the standard of living of local government staff,” he said.

He also urged the chairmen to works toward blocking all avenues of revenue leakages.

The governor assured the people of the state of his administration’s determination to implement policies and programmes that would have direct bearing on the lives of the people.

Mr Dogo Shammah, state Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, commended the governor for his developmental strides, which he said, had impacted greatly on the people within the last one year.

Dogo also thanked journalists for publicising the activities of the state government and urged them to be objective in their reportage.