Governor Dauda Lawal, Monday, presided over the Zamfara State Executive Council meeting during which he received a briefing from the committee constituted to ascertain the position of Zamfara State and Local Governments Pension contributions.
A statement by the Spokesperson to the Governor, Sulaiman Bala Idris, noted that the meeting which held at the council chamber, Government House, Gusau, also deliberated on a series of developmental issues beneficial to Zamfara State.
He noted that the council received a progress report of the ongoing urban renewal in Gusau, the state capital, as well as a briefing on the proposed upgrading and modernisation of the Sardauna Memorial Stadium Gusau, among others.
The statement said, “on October 9th, 2023, the Zamfara State Executive Council formed a committee, led by the Head of Service, to determine the status of Zamfara State and Local Governments Pension Contributions.
“While briefing the council, Ahmad Aliyu Liman, Chairman of the committee and the Head of Service of Zamfara State, said that the committee’s purpose was to investigate the alleged misappropriation of funds deducted from the salaries of state and Local Government civil servants for their contributory pension scheme.
“These funds were supposed to be remitted to the Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs) who are responsible for managing the workers’ Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) in the state.
“The committee Chairman stated that the non-remittance was a gross violation of the Pension Reform Law/Act (2014) governing the conduct of the Contributory Pension Scheme as regulated by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).
“He further reiterated that the non-remittance led to the inability of the PFAs to pay the retirement and death benefits to the appropriate beneficiaries which resulted in the backlog of unpaid benefits currently overburdening the state government.
“Governor Lawal, as the Chairman of the Executive Council, expressed willingness to provide the necessary support to settle all unpaid benefits.”
