The Kano State government has announced that it has set aside about N6 billion to pay gratuities to about 5,500 retired civil servants in the state.
This announcement was made by Kano State governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf while speaking with newsmen on Saturday in Kano.
Recall that Gov. Yusuf, on assumption of office, expressed displeasure over the backlog of unpaid gratuities of over N40 billion, owed by the immediate past administration.
The governor vowed to clear the backlog within two years in office.
Yusuf revealed that the decision for the Kano State government to release the N6 billion for the payment of unpaid gratuities was reached at the weekly Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.
Details of the gratuities payment
The governor revealed that the beneficiaries of the gratuities would be retirees “of low-grade level, whose amounts have not exceeded N1 million or little above N1 million down to like N150,000 or N250,000.”
Yusuf stated that the Kano State government did not borrow the money to pay the gratuities.
He further disclosed that the payment of the backlog of unpaid gratuities would commence next week.
What the governor said:
- “We have the lists of the beneficiaries and the money at hand by next week we will commence the payment without delay.
- “I always sleep and wake up with the issue of gratuities of retired civil servants in my mind. I always think about how to settle and clear this backlog.
- “I frequently summon meetings with the Accountant General, Chairman Pension Trust fund, and others to assist me on the way forward.
- “It is in the course of this meeting we decided to start paying those of low-grade level, whose amounts have not exceeded N1 million or little above N1 million down to like N150,000 or N250,000.
- “I asked them to compile the list and we have got the names of over 5,500 of them.
- “By next week, they will receive their gratuities in sha Allah. The total amount as we calculated is about N6 billion and it has since been approved by the State Executive Council.
- ” Let me also tell you that we have the money at hand. We have not borrowed a dime to pay this gratuity,” he said.
Yusuf restated their commitment to serving the Kano people, calling on the populace to give maximum cooperation to his administration for the overall development of the state.
- ” We are in the system to bring about positive change through good democratic governance that would meet the expectations of our people irrespective of political party affiliations.”
