Retired civil servants at the state and local government levels have appealed to the Niger State Governor, Muhammad Umaru Bago, to resume payment of retirement benefits to pensioners without further delay, as a matter of utmost importance.

Chairman, Alternate (JAC), Mr Steven Daniel Zita, made the appeal while speaking to newsmen shortly after a meeting with pensioners, held at the U.K. Bello Art Theatre, Minna, on Tuesday 13th January, 2026.

JAC, a coalition of five forums of Niger State pensioners, includes the Association of Head of Service & Permanent Secretaries Forum, the Directors Forum, the Concern Citizens Forum, the Association of Local Government Retirees, as well as a Pressure Group.

Zita noted that the meeting was aimed at briefing pensioners on the prevailing circumstances surrounding the stoppage of payment of their entitlements by the state government.

The JAC Chair explained that Governor Umaru Bago had promised that (25) Billion Naira was set aside to clear the backlog of gratuity, remarking that the government released the first tranche of N10 Billion Naira, out of which N6.5 Billion Naira was paid to pensioners, but, regrettably, since March 2024, the payment has been stopped and no explanation from any quarter.

According to Zita, “We have decided to engage the traditional rulers in the state, zone by zone. We presented our demands to them to assist us in intervening and talking to the governor. We embarked on prayers. We met the governor personally, but the governor has not responded. We don’t know what we have done to the governor, because shortly after the payment started, it stopped without explanation.”

Mr Daniel lamented that many pensioners awaiting payment of their entitlements have died as a result of high expectations.

In Zita’s words, “Pensioners are dying on a daily basis. You know, old age has its own problems. You have money somewhere, and you don’t have access to it. It is more painful, so we are calling on the governor to forgive us if anyone of us has done anything wrong to him. We are pleading.” Zita begged.

The JAC Chair lauded Governor Bago for the timely enrolment of pensioners into the Niger State Contributory Health Care Agency (NICARE) free of charge.

In their separate remarks, Mrs Mary Damisa, a pensioner, lamented that she had 8 children and that the monthly pension she received couldn’t sustain her family. She urged Bago to resume payment of gratuity without further delay.

Another pensioner, Elder Bayo, a retired Director with 7 children, stressed that initially he believed in the governor’s pronouncement of the release of N25 billion to the Pension Board to settle pensioners, adding that along the line the payment stopped.

According to Bayo, “I have lost confidence in the politicians, because when you need them, they look for you, but once they have done with you, they forget you.”