Gombe State Governor, Inuwa Yahaya, has announced the commencement of N10.32bn gratuity payments to 6,665 retirees of the state and local governments.
Yahaya disclosed this on Thursday during the official commencement of the sixth tranche of gratuity payments by his administration since it assumed office in 2019.
According to him, N6.24bn was approved for state government retirees covering 2024 and 2025, while N4.08bn was released to local governments to assist in clearing outstanding gratuity obligations.
He said the latest payment would benefit 2,354 state government retirees and 4,311 local government retirees across the state.
The governor said his administration inherited a N21bn gratuity backlog when it came into office in 2019, covering local government retirees between 2012 and 2019 and state government retirees from 2014 to 2019.
“When we assumed office in 2019, we inherited a gratuity backlog of N21 billion owed to state and local government retirees,” he said.
Yahaya said the financial situation of the state and its local governments was difficult at the time, noting that the councils borrowed N1.3bn monthly between 2013 and 2019 to meet salary obligations.
“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.
The governor said the administration had paid N33.283bn in gratuities before Thursday’s disbursement despite challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recessions, the Russia-Ukraine war, fuel subsidy removal and naira flotation.
“Yet through prudent management of scarce resources, we had paid a total of N33.283 billion in gratuities before today,” he said.
Yahaya said the latest N10.32bn payment had raised the total gratuity paid by his administration since 2019 to N44.134bn.
“With today’s disbursement, our cumulative gratuity payment since 2019 has reached a historic N44.134 billion,” the governor said.
He said the latest payment had cleared all state government gratuity obligations up to December 2025, while obligations accruing from January 2026 would be settled early in 2027.
The governor added that the government was developing a sustainable arrangement to prevent the accumulation of future gratuity arrears, including the possibility of introducing a contributory pension system 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.
Yahaya also announced N299m in gratuity payments to former employees of the Gombe Investment and Property Development Company, following its dissolution and the establishment of the Gombe State Investment Promotion Agency.
He said approval had also been granted for the settlement of gratuity arrears owed to former local government chairmen and councillors from the previous administration to date.
The governor said the state had implemented the new minimum wage for state and local government workers, alongside CONMESS and CONHESS for doctors, nurses and other health professionals.
He added that salaries and pensions had been paid promptly throughout his tenure, including during periods of economic recession.
Yahaya explained that the decision to limit large-scale recruitment was partly driven by the need to clear inherited gratuity liabilities and address an overstaffed public service.
“The moral burden of clearing billions in gratuity arrears, together with an inherited service that was already overstaffed, compelled us to delay large-scale recruitment,” he said.
He, however, said the government had recruited 1,000 teachers, more than 440 health workers and hundreds of other employees to fill manpower gaps in ministries, departments and agencies created by the administration.
“With the inherited backlog now cleared, Gombe State is in a stronger position to recruit new workers in a sustainable and strategic manner, aligned with the real needs of our public service and economy,” Yahaya said.
The governor appealed to retirees, civil servants and organised labour to reciprocate the government’s support by committing themselves to the development of the state.
“We expect a renewed commitment and support from our retirees, civil servants and trade union groups in order to repay the support extended to them by our administration.”
Earlier, the Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Muhammadu Magaji, described the commencement of the payments as a significant development in the state’s management of pensions and gratuities.
Magaji said the retirees had played important roles in the development of Gombe through their years of service.
“You have taught our children, you treated the sick, you administered our institutions, maintained infrastructure and kept the machinery of government functioning,” he said.
He said the payment was an obligation of government rather than a favour to the retirees, describing it as evidence of the governor’s commitment to responsible governance.
“The payment being commenced today therefore is not a favour, but a fulfilment of obligation of government which is being upheld strongly by His Excellency, our dear Governor,” Magaji said.
The commissioner said the payment offered renewed hope to beneficiaries and demonstrated the impact of responsible governance.
He commended the administration’s efforts to improve fiscal management, internally generated revenue, budget credibility, transparency and accountability.
Magaji also highlighted the state’s participation in fiscal and governance reform programmes, including SIFTAS, SABER and HOPE, as part of efforts to improve public financial management and institutional reforms.
“Permit me, on behalf of the government and people of the state, to sincerely acknowledge and appreciate Your Excellency for this effort towards our pensioners and retirees.”
He urged the beneficiaries to appreciate the government’s efforts to settle inherited obligations and prayed for continued wisdom and strength for the governor.
