Gov Lawal Clears N9bn Owed Gratuities To Zamfara Retirees

Zamfara State governor, Dauda Lawal, has settled N9,357,743,281.35 as payment for gratuities owed to state workers since 2011.

The governor approved the commencement of the payment of the backlog of gratuities in February this year.

In a statement issued in Gusau, the state capital, on Saturday, the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, revealed that the government had paid retired workers N4,860,613,699.22 in nine batches.

The statement added that a total sum of N4,497,129,582.13 has been settled for the local government workers.

He said: “In his commitment to reform the Zamfara state civil service, in February, Governor Lawal established a committee to verify and authenticate the Zamfara State pensioners who had not been paid gratuities since 2011.

“So far, 2,666 out of the 3,880 verified pensioners have been paid their total gratuity entitlements, amounting to N4,860,613,699.22, out of the total amount owed by previous administrations. These payments have been made to beneficiaries who retired between 2015 and 2024.

“On the other hand, 3,840 out of 4804 verified retired Local Government and Primary School Teachers have so far been paid in nine (9) batches to the tune of N4,497,129,582.13. The Local Government Gratuity outstanding total payable arrears was N5,688,230,607.20, of which N4,497,129,582.13 has been paid to date. The beneficiaries of the payments are those who retired between 2011- 2021.

“In summary, therefore, the state has so far paid a combined total of N9,357,743,281.35 as gratuity out of the cumulative sum of N13,784,179,513.80 owed by the state to a total number of 6,506 verified retired beneficiaries out of the 8,684 the total verified retired beneficiaries. The beneficiaries of the payments are those who retired between 2011- 2024.”