Bauchi State Government on Wednesday, commenced the disbursement of the sum of N11.7 billion to clear outstanding gratuities owed to 5,736 retired civil servants at both State and LGAs whose terminal benefits have not been paid since 2012 to 2016.
The State Governor, Sen Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, officially flagged off the disbursement at the Sub-treasury office premises, represented by the Deputy Governor Rt Hon Auwal Jatau.
Bala Mohammed, said that the payment was part of a renewed strategy to address pension liabilities inherited from previous administrations.
The Governor revealed that according to validated government records, the outstanding gratuity obligation stands at N11,704,200,221.83, covering retirees between 2012 and 2016.
The breakdown shows that N6,132,505,444.44 is owed to 3,570 state government retirees, while N5,579,694,779.39 is owed to 2,256 local government retirees.
The government has approved an initial N10 billion for the exercise, which will be paid in batches based on the age of the debt, availability of funds, completeness of documentation and successful verification.
A committee led by a former Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Sabiu Baba, is coordinating the exercise in collaboration with the Bauchi State Contributory Pension Commission, which is responsible for validating and reconciling pensioners’ records.
The first phase will cover local government retirees from the 2012–2013 period and state civil service retirees from 2013.
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The government stated that retirees outside the initial phase would not be excluded, assuring that the payment exercise would continue until the backlog was cleared.
It acknowledged that many pensioners had waited for more than a decade for their benefits, while some had died before receiving their entitlements.
The government consequently directed the pension commission, Head of Service and participating commercial banks to eliminate bureaucratic bottlenecks, corruption and favouritism in the payment process.
It also directed verification teams to give priority to elderly and physically challenged retirees during screening as the Pensioners were urged to cooperate with verification officials and provide the required documents to facilitate payment.
The latest intervention builds on previous efforts by the state government to address pension obligations. Under its 2025 budget, the government allocated N5 billion for gratuities and N8.5 billion for pensions as part of its social benefits programme.
Beyond clearing the current backlog, the government said it was working towards establishing a fully automated pension system to prevent the accumulation of unpaid retirement benefits in the future.
The gesture has been described by organised Labour and other stakeholders as an economic stimulus and a proof of a labour-friendly administration.
In his goodwill message, the representative of organised labour, Ibrahim Maikudi commended the state government for prioritizing workers’ welfare, noting that Bauchi was among the first states in the country to implement the N70,000 minimum wage for civil servants.
He further stated that Bauchi was the first state in the North to implement the N32,000 minimum pension for pensioners.
“We are witnessing another gesture today, which is the flag-off of payment of accrued gratuity which this administration inherited. It is because of the good nature of our labour-friendly Governor that he decided to pay this backlog,” he said.
He disclosed that the current phase covers retirees of 2012 to 2013, with assurance that the exercise would continue from 2016 to 2026 to clear all outstanding arrears.
“For now, we are paying from 2012 to 2013 and we were told it will continue after 2016 up to 2026. The entire pensioners are here, happy and ready to support this government,” he added.
Also speaking, the Executive Chairman of Ningi Local Government Area, Alhaji Yahuza Adamu, who spoke on behalf of other chairmen of local governments, said the payment goes beyond politics.
“What we are doing today is beyond socio-political, it is economic in nature. We are injecting funds into the public domain in Bauchi State and with the multiplier effect, it is going to change the economic trajectory of the state,” he said.
Yahuza maintained the gratuity payment, which had become a mirage over the years, was promised by successive administrations but never fulfilled.
“Everybody promised to do this and nobody ever did it. This is only done now by the right leader, at the right time, at the right moment, and to the right people,” he said.
He pledged the support of local government councils for the developmental programmes of the state government and urged beneficiaries and their families to continue to pray for the success of the administration.
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