The Sokoto State Concerned Pensioners Forum has urged the state government to take decisive action in alleviating the economic hardships being faced by its members.
The group made this known during a media briefing which was addressed by Malam Muhammad Bazza, the Administrative Secretary of the forum in Sokoto on Tuesday.
Bazza said that in spite of the assertions by the immediate past administration in the state that all pension arrears had been settled before handing over in May 2023, the reality in the state was different.
He claimed that while there may not be a backlog of monthly pensions, there exists a significant backlog of gratuity payments.
“The present administration inherited a gratuity backlog of about N13 billion, and the ongoing Gratuity Verification will determine the exact figure.
” The forum refrained from an immediate response, waiting for the current administration’s stance on the previous administration’s declaration,” he clarified.
Bazza said that Gov. Ahmed Aliyu of the state has formed a committee to verify the alleged gratuity payments.
“We anticipate a fair assessment and valuable recommendations from the committee which will be beneficial to both the government and pensioners,” he said.
The secretary emphasised the need for the government to adhere to the constitutional provisions mandating the review of pensions every five years.
He underscored the inadequacy of the current minimum monthly pension of N4,500, which has remained unchanged for over 22 years.
Bazza, however, highlighted disparities in pension payments, citing instances where the highest monthly pension remains at N42,000, owing to the non-implementation of the minimum wage adjustments.
