Bauchi owes retirees N15b gratuity, says NLC

Hashimu Gital, Chairman, Bauchi State Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), said that the state government owed retirees N15 billion in accumulated gratuity.

Gital said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bauchi on Sunday. “The problem here is the accumulated gratuity amounting to almost N15 billion.

“We have achieved that of normalising payment of salaries where government does not owe any salary arrears in Bauchi State but the issue of gratuity remains a problem.

“We are always knocking at the door of the state government and there is assurance that government is also making efforts to ensure that the outstanding gratuity is paid,’’ the NLC chairman said.

He refuted insinuations that retirees in the state were been owed pension arrears.

Gital said that the state government was also making efforts to actualise the contributory pension scheme in the state.

He commended the state government for initiating another round of screening exercise for the workforce to further eliminate ghost workers in its payroll.

“As stakeholders in the affairs of the state, our concern as organised labour is to ensure sustainability of the payment of salaries,’’ the NLC chairman said.