The Nasarawa State Government said it earmarked N1.6 billion to pay the gratuity of 2012 retirees in the state.

Governor Abdullahi Sule announced this during the distribution of electric vehicles at the Government House, Lafia, on Thursday.

Mr Sule said that his administration had fully paid the inherited gratuity from 1996 to 2011.

He said, “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.’’

The governor also announced that the government would give the local governments N600 million to be able to pay their own gratuity.

He said, “For the retired civil servants, if you remember, we started this payment from 1996 to 2011 and have fully paid.”

He, however, cautioned the local governments against overstaffing, saying it was the reason for their financial burden.

He stated, “The local governments are having a bit of challenges, which we do know they will not be able to go in the same line with the state government to pay 100 per cent of the gratuity.’’

He announced a plan to engage a consultant to audit the local governments to save them from what he called a “time bomb” ready for explosion.

“Every year, the local governments leave gratuity of between N5 billion and N6 billion. There is no way they will be able to pay. And, so, either people will die without getting their gratuity or they will continue to pay in percentages,” he said.

Mr Sule urged the House of Assembly to carry out a local government audit as part of its oversight function to ascertain the staff records.

He further said that, given the improved revenue from the federation account, the state had concluded plans to buy fertilisers and rice and resell them to the residents at a 50 per cent subsidy.

He said that the effort was in line with the “watering the ground” directive by President Bola Tinubu.

(NAN)