The Enugu State government has approved the payment of N32 billion in outstanding gratuity arrears owed to retired civil servants since 2000.

The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Chidiebere Onyia, disclosed this while briefing Government House correspondents after the State Executive Council meeting on Friday in Enugu.

The SSG said the payments would begin with an initial release of N10 billion scheduled to commence next week.

Mr Onyia said the approval was part of Governor Peter Mbah’s commitment to clearing gratuity debts inherited from previous administrations and ensuring that retirees received their entitlements.

According to him, the government would release N10 billion monthly between October and December to clear the outstanding legacy gratuity arrears.

The SSG explained that the government had undertaken a comprehensive verification exercise to establish the actual amount owed to retirees dating back to 2000.

He said the exercise became necessary following years of unstructured and arbitrary payments of gratuities to retirees.

“Once the first N10 billion is exhausted, another N10 billion will be released, followed by the third tranche until the outstanding arrears are cleared,” he said.

Mr Onyia added that the N32 billion gratuity obligation had already been captured in the state’s 2026 budget and approved by the State House of Assembly.

He further disclosed that the governor had approved a meeting of the State Economic Council to review outstanding local government gratuity arrears estimated at over N10 billion.

According to him, the government was considering a monthly deduction of N1 billion from local government funds to settle the arrears over approximately 10 months.

The SSG clarified that the government had continued to pay the pensions and gratuities of workers retiring under the present administration while addressing outstanding pension obligations.

He dismissed claims that the administration had refused to take responsibility for pension arrears inherited from previous governments.

Mr Onyia disclosed that the government had verified 66,783 serving and retired workers as part of efforts to eliminate irregularities and ensure transparency in the payment process.

He urged retirees who encountered difficulties during the verification exercise to submit their complaints to the verification committee in the Office of the Secretary to the State Government.

According to him, such complaints would be reviewed individually to ensure that eligible beneficiaries were not excluded.

The SSG also disclosed plans by the government to migrate workers to the contributory pension scheme to prevent the accumulation of gratuity arrears in the future.

He said the government was working with organised labour and pension fund administrators to develop a sustainable pension system.

“Under the contributory pension scheme, workers will have their retirement funds managed by pension fund administrators, making it easier for them to access their benefits upon retirement,” he said. 

(NAN)