By Oboh Linus, Lafia
The Nasarawa State Government has commenced quarterly payment of gratuity to 1,389 retirees from the State and Local Government Civil Service.
Mr Abdullahi Ibrahim, Director of Human Resources, Pension Bureau stated this while speaking with newsmen during the exercise on Wednesday in Lafia.
He explained the gratuity payment exercise was structured quarterly by the administration of Gov Abdullahi Sule to clear the backlogs of payment inherited by his administration.
Ibrahim further explained that the first quarterly payment of the gratuity in 2026, amounting to N300 million benefiting both local governments and state retirees respectively.
He said the pension Bureau has raised a memo to the Governor seeking approval for the release of funds to kick-start the payment of the backlog for 2013 retirement benefits of the retired civil servants.
The Director of Human Resources said, contrary to the disinformation being peddled in some quarters regarding the selection of the beneficiaries, that the Bureau was not responsible for selection, as selection was solely the responsibility of the committee.
“The selection of the benefiting retired officers is being done transparently by the disbursement committee, constituted by the industrial court, which the Deputy governor is the chairman .
“And members were drawn from various ministries including NUP Chairman, Concerned Pensioners’ Group and DG Nasarawa State Pension Bureau.
“So, the committee ensures seamless selection of the beneficiaries and the bureau implement it afterwards. It has been a policy that the payment is based on first-come, first-served,” he said.
Ibrahim said the Nasarawa state under the leadership of Gov Sule has been consistent in the payment of pension, noting that the pensioners receive their payment in full as and when due.
He appealed to the retirees to be patient as the Bureau, under the leadership of Alhaji Suleiman Nagogo, has been working hard toward ensuring every retired officer gets their entitlement.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov Sule had released over N5 billion in 2025 to clear backlogs of gratuities between 1999 and 2012. (NAN)
