Sokoto Pensioners Want N13bn Gratuities Cleared

Sokoto State Concerned Pensioners Forum has called on the state government to clear the inherited N13 billion backlogs of gratuities.

The forum administrative secretary, Muhammad Garba Bazza, stated this during a press conference held at the Sokoto Secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

Bazza who recalled that some time in December 2023, the immediate past government said it paid all the backlog of pensions arrears before handing over in May 2023.

“But to our knowledge in Sokoto State, there is no backlog of monthly pensions but that of gratuity.

“We concluded that the declaration is one of the 21st Century surprises that has ever been made in the history of handing over the affairs of the state.

“And for the record the present administration inherited over N13 billion backlog of gratuities according to our source of information but the ongoing gratuity verification will come up with an exact figure,” he said.

He expressed displeasure on how pension rights of local government and local government education authorities and state retirees, pensioners were violated.

According to him, the minimum monthly pension in the state which includes LGAs, LGEAs and state level is N4,500 for the past 22 years.

Also, the highest paid monthly pension at LGAs, LGEAs is N45,000 this was due to non-implementation of N18,000 minimum wage and health workers salary since March 2013 to date.

The forum appealed to the Sokoto State government to be more “pensioner friendly” to mitigate most of the problems from Wamakko administration.