Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Saturday said that his administration in the past six months had steadily expended N700 million monthly on payment of pensions.
Ortom offered the explanation against the backdrop of the protest by some aggrieved pensioners on Wednesday who took to the streets of Makurdi while they accused the state government of being insensitive to their plights over unpaid pensions.
The governor however told journalists shortly after his return from Abuja that a total of N700 million was being paid to the different categories of pensioners in the state every month.
He further explained that the amount covered the N400million and N300milllion paid monthly to the State and Local Government pensioners respectively.
He reiterated that his administration inherited over N70billion arrears of pensions and gratuities of retirees in the state but that through relentless efforts, his government had reduced the amount to less than N35b so far.
