The Gombe State Government has commenced the payment of N10.32bn in gratuities to 6,665 state and local government retirees.
Governor Inuwa Yahaya disclosed this on Thursday at the official commencement of the sixth tranche of gratuity payments by his administration since 2019.
The governor said N6.24bn was approved for state government retirees covering the years 2024 and 2025, while N4.08bn was released to support local governments in clearing their gratuity backlogs.
He said the payment would benefit 2,354 state government retirees and 4,311 local government retirees across the state.
Yahaya said his administration inherited a N21bn gratuity backlog when it assumed office in 2019, covering local government retirees from 2012 to 2019 and state retirees from 2014 to 2019.
“When we assumed office in 2019, we inherited a gratuity backlog of N21bn owed to state and local government retirees,” he said.
The governor said the state’s finances and those of the local governments were in a difficult position at the time, noting that the councils had to borrow N1.3bn monthly between 2013 and 2019 to pay salaries.
“From the outset, we recognised that the welfare of retirees is not a privilege but a right, and that every worker who has served faithfully deserves to retire with dignity and financial security,” Yahaya said.
He said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, recessions, the Russia-Ukraine war, fuel subsidy removal and naira flotation, his administration had paid N33.283bn in gratuities before Thursday’s disbursement.
“Yet through prudent management of scarce resources, we had paid a total of N33.283bn in gratuities before today,” he said.
According to him, the latest N10.32bn payment brings the cumulative gratuity payments made by his administration since 2019 to N44.134bn.
“With today’s disbursement, our cumulative gratuity payment since 2019 has reached a historic N44.134bn,” the governor said.
Yahaya said the payment had settled all state government gratuity obligations up to December 2025, while gratuities accruing from January 2026 would be paid early in 2027.
He added that his administration was working on a sustainable mechanism to prevent future accumulation of gratuity arrears, including a possible contributory pension arrangement or deductions from the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
“Our objective is simple: gratuity obligations must never again be allowed to accumulate and become an unbearable burden to the state and our retirees,” he said.
The governor also announced the payment of N299m in gratuities to former staff of the Gombe Investment and Property Development Company following the dissolution of the company and the establishment of the Gombe State Investment Promotion Agency.
He said approval had also been given for the settlement of gratuity backlogs owed to former local government chairmen and councillors from the previous administration to date.
Yahaya said his administration had also implemented the new minimum wage for state and local government workers, as well as CONMESS and CONHESS for doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
