The Bauchi government has disbursed ₦5.2 billion in gratuities to state and local government retirees who left service between 2012 and 2014, with payments for workers who retired in 2015 scheduled to begin on Monday.
The Bauchi State Government has disbursed ₦5.2 billion in gratuities to workers who retired from the state and local government services between 2012 and 2014, as it prepares to commence payments for retirees from 2015.
The Executive Secretary of the Bauchi State Contributory Pension Commission, Mr Ibrahim Inuwa, disclosed this on Sunday in Bauchi while reviewing progress in the ongoing disbursement exercise.
Inuwa said the government had paid ₦3.1 billion to local government retirees and ₦2.1 billion to state government retirees since the exercise began three weeks ago.
He added that the total amount disbursed was expected to increase as the payment process continued.
According to him, the government plans to begin paying gratuities to workers who retired in 2015 on Monday, October 26.
The pension commission chief advised eligible retirees to obtain the necessary information from pension desk officers in their respective local government areas to facilitate the process.
An official of the disbursement committee, Mr Kabir Sizwe, said the exercise was progressing smoothly despite challenges, including difficulties locating the files of some retirees.
He explained that relevant government agencies were working to trace the missing records to ensure that affected beneficiaries could receive their entitlements.
Also speaking, Kola Oyerinde urged retirees who missed the 2012, 2013 and 2014 payment exercises to come forward for verification and processing.
Oyerinde disclosed that 442 of the 583 state government retirees expected for the 2014 exercise had participated, while 670 of the 769 eligible local government retirees had turned up.
He assured beneficiaries that the funds allocated for the exercise were available and urged those yet to receive their gratuities to complete the necessary verification and documentation procedures.
The ongoing disbursement is aimed at settling outstanding retirement benefits owed to former state and local government workers in Bauchi State.
Visit GMTNewsng for more news stories.
