Taraba govt. owes N9.7bn to pensioners –Board

The Taraba state government on Thursday said it was owing its pensioners about N9.7 billion in gratuities covering September 2007 to January 10, 2017.

The chairman of the State’s Pension Board, Mr. Nuhu Abe, said this at a media forum.

Mr. Abe blamed the economic recession for the inability of the state government to settle the accumulated gratuities.

“As at Jan. 10, the state was owing gratuities amounting to N9, 699, 931.48 being the entitlement of about 3, 547 pensioners.

“The state government has to prioritise its scarce resources with more attention to the payment of salaries and monthly pension but the gratuities will be settled as soon as funds are available.

“The state has been regular in the payment of monthly pension of about N173. 2 million every month up January and to about 3, 482 pensioners,’’ he said.

Also speaking, Mr. Rabo Usman, the Chief of Staff, Government House Administration, explained that to address the problem of pension in the state, government was discussing with PENCOM.

“Once that is concluded, the burden of both pensions and gratuities would have been adequately solved,” he said.

The forum was organised by the Senior Special Assistant to Governor Darius Ishaku on Public Affairs, Mr. Emmanuel Bello.