By Auwal Ahmad, Gombe

The Gombe State Government has begun the disbursement of ₦10.32 billion in gratuity to 6,665 retired workers, as the administration of Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya moves to clear outstanding retirement benefits and prevent a fresh accumulation of arrears.

The payment, which covers retirees at both the state and local government levels, was announced by Yahaya on Thursday at the official commencement of the latest gratuity disbursement exercise in Gombe.

The governor said ₦6.24 billion would go to 2,354 state government retirees, while ₦4.08 billion had been released to support the 11 local government councils in settling gratuity obligations owed to 4,311 retirees.

Yahaya said the latest disbursement marked the sixth major round of gratuity payments undertaken by his administration since it assumed office in 2019.

According to him, the government inherited a ₦21 billion gratuity backlog covering retirees of both the state and local governments.

He said the financial situation inherited by the administration made it difficult to immediately clear the liabilities, noting that some local governments were struggling to meet their monthly salary obligations.

“When we assumed office in 2019, we inherited a gratuity backlog of ₦21 billion owed to state and local government retirees,” Yahaya said.

He said his administration nevertheless prioritised the payment of the arrears because gratuity was an entitlement earned by workers after years of service.

The governor said ₦33.283 billion had been paid in gratuities before the latest disbursement, bringing the total amount paid by the administration to ₦44.134 billion.

He attributed the government’s continued payment of the arrears to prudent management of public resources despite several economic challenges experienced during his tenure.

Among the challenges, he listed the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recessions, the Russia-Ukraine war, the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira.

Yahaya said the latest payment had cleared the state’s gratuity obligations up to December 2025.

He, however, acknowledged that new liabilities had accumulated from January 2026, assuring retirees that gratuities accruing in 2026 would be paid early in 2027.

The governor also disclosed that ₦299 million had been paid to former employees of the Gombe Investment and Property Development Company following the dissolution of the organisation and the establishment of the Gombe State Investment Promotion Agency.

He added that he had approved the settlement of outstanding gratuities owed former local government chairmen and councillors from previous administrations to date.

For local government retirees, Yahaya said the latest payments covered different periods, depending on the level of outstanding obligations in each council.

The affected councils are Akko, Balanga, Billiri, Dukku, Funakaye, Kwami, Nafada, Gombe, Kaltungo, Shongom and Yamaltu-Deba.

Beyond clearing the existing backlog, Yahaya said the government was working on a mechanism to prevent gratuity arrears from accumulating again.

He said the options being considered included adopting a contributory pension arrangement or making direct deductions from the Consolidated Revenue Fund to guarantee regular payment of retirees’ entitlements.

“Our objective is simple: gratuity obligations must never again be allowed to accumulate and become an unbearable burden to the state and our retirees,” he said.

The governor linked the latest payment to other measures introduced by his administration to improve workers’ welfare, including the implementation of the new minimum wage and CONMESS and CONHESS for medical personnel.

He also cited the construction of a new state secretariat, judicial and legislative complexes, 13 Local Council Development Area secretariats and the rehabilitation of 11 former local government secretariats.

On recruitment, Yahaya said his administration had been cautious about expanding the public workforce because of the financial burden inherited from previous years.

He said the government had nevertheless employed 1,000 teachers and more than 440 health workers, in addition to workers recruited into various agencies established by the administration.

With the inherited gratuity backlog substantially addressed, Yahaya said the state was now better positioned to recruit workers based on the actual needs of the public service.

He appealed to retirees, civil servants and labour unions to continue supporting the government’s reforms, assuring them that financial discipline and workers’ entitlements would remain priorities.

“For us, this is not just about figures. It is about restoring dignity to people who gave the best years of their lives in service to Gombe State,” Yahaya said.