Edo State Government has released N1bn  to complete the payment of arrears of gratuity of local government staff and primary school staff that retired in 2012.

The Chairman of the Edo State Local Government Service Commission, Hon Kabiru Adjoto disclosed this on Friday when he met with the representatives of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Local Government Pensioners Association (LOGPENAS), National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) and representative of the Local Government Pension Bureau.

He said if the previous administration adopted Okpebholo’s strategy of paying by installment, the entire arrears would have been cleared.

He said: “Today’s event is another clear demonstration of the unwavering commitment of the Government of Edo State, under the purposeful leadership of His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, to the welfare and well-being of workers and retirees who devoted the greater part of their lives to the service of our dear State.

“Following the successful commencement of gratuity payments to retirees in the 2012 batch early this year, I am pleased to announce that His Excellency has graciously approved and released an additional One Billion Naira (N1,000,000,000.00) to sustain the exercise. This additional intervention will enable the Pension Bureau to continue the payment process, covering the remaining beneficiaries in the 2012 batch and beyond.”

He said the gesture by the governor was a demonstration of his resolve to gradually eliminate the backlog of outstanding gratuities accumulated over the years “to our retirees who have meritoriously served the state.

“While we acknowledge that much still remains to be done, we are encouraged by the consistent support and commitment of His Excellency. We therefore assure all retirees whose gratuities are still outstanding that the Government remains committed to sustaining this exercise until the backlog is substantially addressed, subject to the availability of funds.”

Responding on behalf of the unions represented by Comrade Claudette Ehannire the spokesperson of the NUP and Jude Ahabue of LOGPENAS, the Secretary of NULGE, while appreciating the gesture of the governor appealed that the amount should be increased in subsequent payments so that the arrears would be cleared in record time.