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The Bauchi state government Wednesday flagged off the payment of N10 billion outstanding gratuities to the first batch of 1,700 state and local government pensioners, beginning with retirees from 2012 and 2013.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony in Bauchi, the governor stated that the exercise is part of his administration’s commitment to clearing the backlog of retirement benefits owed to retired workers of the state, with subsequent batches expected to be paid chronologically according to the years of retirement.
Represented by his deputy, Auwal Jatau, Governor Bala Mohammed said the government was determined to address the long-standing plight of pensioners who had waited for years to receive their entitlements.
The governor said retirees who had given their productive years to the service of the state deserved to be treated with dignity and receive the reward of their labour.
He added that it was unacceptable for workers who had spent their productive years serving the state to retire and continue to suffer because of unpaid gratuities.
He stated that the payment is a responsibility the government must discharge, noting that many retirees had waited for more than a decade for their entitlements.
“They gave us their best yesterday and so deserve our best today,” he said. It is with a proper sense of duty that I stand to perform a function close to my heart—to pay outstanding arrears.
“For over two decades, many have waited painfully for the reward of their labour. Your wait has come to an end,” he said.
