The Niger State House of Assembly has reiterated its commitment to improving the plight of pensioners in the state.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Labour and Productivity, Malik Madaki, made this known during a stakeholders meeting on the amended Contributory Pension law in the state.
Madaki regretted the hardship retirees faced in accessing their gratuity and monthly pension after retirement.
“These people are going through a lot of hardship after giving their best to the state and it should not be so.
“People should not retire from service and be made to suffer unnecessarily because of unpaid gratuities.
“But this House will continue to put the relevant agencies on their toes to ensure they do the needful,” he said
Madaki tasked the state pension board to do more in paying gratuities promptly to retirees.
He, however, frowned at the continued payment of retired permanent secretaries under the old pension law.
The lawmaker explained that this gave them their full salaries and allowances after retirement, despite an amended law being in place.
The committee, thereafter, gave the Head of Service, Alhaji Yabagi Sule, who was in attendance, one week to ensure full compliance with the amended law in paying retired permanent secretaries.
The Director General of the State Pension Board, Alhaji Usman Mohammed, said his agency had gone a long way in the implementation of the amended pension law.
Mohammed noted that the board had paid over N2 billion in gratuities to 1,599 people since the coming on board of the present administration.
According to him, the state’s total outstanding gratuity liability stands at over N6 billion, saying paucity of funds meant would not allow for it to be offset at once.
He further stated that the state spent about N400 million monthly on the salaries of retirees.
He gave the assurance that the board would turn-around the fortunes of retirees through prompt payment of their gratuities and monthly pension.
“I want to assure you that better days are ahead for pensioners in the state.
“We are doing everything within our power to see that we bring about a turn-around in their situation,” he added. (NAN)
