The Bauchi State Executive Council has approved N32, 000 as minimum pension for all retirees from the state civil service.
Bauchi State Head of Civil Service, Barrister Mohammed Sani Umar who announced the Council’s approval at its post-executive meeting, attributed the raise to increment in the minimum wage already approved by the federal government.
“The State Executive Council has approved the implementation of minimum pension in the state from N12, 000 to N32, 000, an increase of more than N19, 000 to our pensioners.
“Today, the Executive Council has considered a submission having to do with the increase in the pensions of our state retired civil servants. This was as a result of the increase in their national minimum wage and the minimum pensions increase approved by the federal government,” the Head of Service said.
Barrister Sani explained that pension is on the Exclusive List, but the states were also enjoined to join whenever legislation in that respect as passed by the National Assembly.
“The requirement of our operational guidelines and the law is that pension should be reviewed together with the minimum wage. Yes, reviews have taken place in the state, but I think the last one was so many years back”, he recalled.
Disina noted that the amount being paid by the Bauchi State Government before the increment was not being implemented in most states of the federation.
He described the approval as a reflection of Governor Bala Mohammed’s unwavering commitment to improving the welfare of senior citizens while confirming that pension allowances have also been increased to better reflect current economic realities.
“This gesture that has just been approved, I was told by the pensioners themselves, it’s only a handful of states, not more than four throughout the country that have approved the implementation of N32, 000 minimum pension,” he said.
