By Peter Omopo
Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has approved the payment of N1.6 billion in gratuities owed to retired civil servants for the year 2012.
Sule made this known on Thursday in Lafia, the state capital, during the distribution of 100 electric vehicles and tricycles to youths across the 13 Local Government Areas of the state as part of an empowerment initiative.
The governor disclosed that his administration had fully cleared gratuities for retired workers from 1996 to 2011.
“This year, at the state level, we are also paying all the 2012. We will be paying them 100 per cent of their money amounting to N1.6 billion,” he said.
Sule further announced that the state government would support local government councils with N600 million to enable them to settle their gratuity obligations.
He, however, cautioned the councils against overstaffing, which he noted was the major cause of their financial strain.
“Every year, the LGAs leave gratuity between N5 billion and N6 billion; there is no way they will be able to pay,” he said.
The governor urged the State House of Assembly to conduct an audit of the 13 LGAs to ascertain their actual staff records.
