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Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, has paid over N4 billion in gratuities to retired workers dating back to 2011.

A statement on Friday by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, noted that the gratuity payments began in February for state and local government workers after retirees were authenticated and validated.

According to the statement, “the Zamfara State government has paid a total of N4,337,087,492.06 billion in four batches to state and local government retirees.

“In February, Governor Dauda Lawal set up a committee to validate retirees’ data and settle the gratuity debt that has accumulated since 2011 as part of his efforts to sanitize the civil service in Zamfara State.
“After verifying the data of retired civil servants in Zamfara, the government discovered that state and local governments owed a total of N13.4 billion.
“In the first, second, and third tranches of the payments, 1,088 verified state pensioners were paid their total gratuity entitlements. The total amount paid was N1,836,836,018.95
“This month, 284 verified state pensioners were paid their gratuity arrears worth N499,435,942.42 in the fourth batch. The total amount paid by the state pension rose to N2,336,271,961.37.
“Furthermore, a total of 1,744 retired Local Government and primary school teachers who retired between 2011 and 2018 have been paid N2,000,815,530.69 in four batches.
“The ongoing gratuity payment is a remarkable achievement and it is expected to provide some relief to the beneficiaries who have been waiting for years to receive their benefits.
“Governor Lawal’s administration has shown that it remains focused on fulfilling its promises to the people of Zamfara State.”