Zamfara State government has verified 3,079 retirees in an effort to pay the backlog of gratuities owed by previous administrations.
Retired state and local government workers had not received their gratuities since 2011, according to a statement by Governor Dauda Lawal’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris.
He said that a total of 1746 pensioners from the state and local government councils received two tranches of payment amounting to N2,312,841,065.08.
The statement added that the second tranche of verified pensioners’ gratuity payments began last Friday, bringing relief to retirees who had been waiting for their entitlements for years.
“Tremendous progress has been made in verifying state and local government pensioners. Payment for the second tranche of verified pensioners’ gratuity commenced on Friday, March 1, 2024.
“A total of 413 verified pensioners from the state have been paid a sum of about N682,228,647.38.
“Also, the payment of the second tranche of verified pensioners from local governments has commenced.
“A total of 403 verified pensioners from the local governments, amounting to N449,667,142.08 have been paid.
“Out of the 3079 pensioners who have been verified, 1746 have received their gratuity payments in two tranches from the state and local governments.
“The total amount paid so far is N2,312,841,065.08.
“The process of verifying and authenticating retirees is still ongoing, with payments being made to those who have been cleared,” the statement said.