Zamfara State government has commenced payment of backlog of N13.4 billion in gratuities to its retirees.
The government had earlier set up a committee to authenticate data of retired civil servants in order to pay off the gratuity debt accumulated from 2011 to date.
In a statement on Saturday, the Governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, noted that retirees owed gratuities since 2011 started receiving their payments since last Thursday.
The statement said, “the state government has taken a significant step towards addressing the outstanding debt of gratuity owed retirees which comprises death gratuities, retirement gratuities and contract gratuities.
“Governor Dauda Lawal set up a committee to validate and authenticate retiree data to settle the debt of gratuities that has accumulated since 2011.
“After validating the data of retired civil servants, the government discovered that the total amount owed from state and local governments is N13.4 billion.
“The committee has already gone far with the authentication of data submitted by the local government and state pension commission and physical verification of beneficiaries.
“Retired state and local government employees who were verified have begun receiving their gratuity payments since Thursday.
“The government will ensure that all retirees are authenticated and paid their gratuities without any difficulties.
“The Zamfara State government is fulfilling its promise to serve the people of Zamfara by rescuing and rebuilding the state for the better.”
