Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has paid N9bn in gratuities owed to Zamfara workers since 2011.
The governor approved the commencement of the payment of the backlog of gratuities earlier in February.
In a statement released in Gusau on Saturday, the governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Idris, revealed that the government had paid N4.9bn to retired state workers across nine batches.
Idris added that another sum of N4.5bn had been paid to local government workers.
The statement read, “In his commitment to reform the Zamfara State Civil Service, in February, Governor Lawal established a committee to verify and authenticate the 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.
“Additionally, 3,840 out of 4,804 verified retired local government and primary school teachers have so far been paid in nine batches, totalling N4,497,129,582.13. The total outstanding local government gratuity arrears were N5,688,230,607.20, of which N4,497,129,582.13 has been paid to date. The beneficiaries of these payments are those who retired between 2011 and 2021.
“In summary, the state has so far paid a combined total of N9,357,743,281.35 in gratuities, out of the cumulative sum of N13,784,179,513.80 owed by the state to a total of 6,506 verified retired beneficiaries out of 8,684 verified retirees.
“The beneficiaries of these payments are those who retired between 2011 and 2024.”
