Governor Yusuf flags off payment of N6bn gratuities to 5,500 Kano pensioners

From Mustapha Adamu, Kano

Governor of Kano state, Abba Yusuf has inaugurated the payment of gratuities and death benefits to 5,500 pensioners of different categories, amounting to N6 billion.
The governor inaugurated the payment at a grand ceremony, held at Coronation Hall, Government House in Kano on Saturday.
Recall that the governor promised to settle the entitlements of over five thousand retirees of lower cadre whose amount does not exceed N1 million.
Speaking at the event, governor Yusuf said the gesture was part of his campaign promises, aimed at improving the welfare of pensioners and workers in active service in the state.
According to Yusuf, the unprecedented was achieved after his administration set the N6 billion to settle the backlog of gratuities through blockage of leakages.
He said if not because of the blockage, the state government would not have gotten the fund to settle the liability backlog after inheriting “empty treasury” from the immediate past administration.
Yusuf added that since coming on board, he had attached utmost priority to welfare of pensioners and workers in the state by stopping “illegal” deduction of monthly salary and pension.
“I have since been concerned about the plight of retirees. These people served their state diligently. They had spent precious moment of their lifetime working for the state, but at the end, they had not been paid their entitlements.
“This is a sheer injustice and this is the end of it. From now on, i will ensure that no pension and salary deduction henceforth,” Mr Yusuf said.
While condemning the deduction of pensioners’ monthly pension to the tune of N5.4 billion, Mr Yusuf promised to put robust system that would see continued payment of gratuities and entitlements monthly.
In his remarks earlier, Chairman, Kano state Pension Fund Trustees, Habu Fagge said the board had inherited backlog of N48.6 billion.
He noted that Kano pension board used to be the richest but now it is the poorest as a result of bad management, assuring that Mr Yusuf’s administration had put robust plans to ensure efficiency in the settlement of the gratuities.
He assured that Mr Yusuf’s administration would set a target of settling the backlog of the gratuity by 20 months.