Zamfara State Governor clears N9.36 billion outstanding gratuities

Austin Okoro DDM NEWS

Zamfars state Governor and others

Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has made significant progress in clearing gratuity debts owed to retirees.

According to recent updates, his administration has paid a total of ₦9.36 billion in outstanding gratuities to state and local government workers, with some payments dating back to 2011.

This amount is part of a larger debt of ₦13.78 billion owed to retired civil servants .

₦4.86 billion paid to retired state workers, with 2,666 out of 3,880 verified pensioners receiving their total gratuity entitlements

₦4.5 billion paid to local government retirees, with 3,513 retired Local Government and Primary School Teachers receiving ₦3.5 billion in seven batches.

A committee was established in January 2024 to verify unpaid gratuities for state workers who retired between 2015 and 2024 and local government pensioners between 2012 and 2019.

This effort aims to settle the backlog of over ₦13 billion in gratuities owed to retired state and local government civil servants .

While the exact amount paid (₦13.6 billion) as claimed isn’t directly verified, Governor Lawal’s administration has indeed made substantial payments, with ₦9.36 billion cleared so far, benefiting 6,506 out of 8,684 verified retirees across the state .

Governor Dauda Lawal is a Nigerian banker and politician who currently serves as the Governor of Zamfara State.

He was elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 Nigerian gubernatorial elections, defeating the incumbent Governor Bello Matawalle of the APC.

:Born on September 2, 1965, in Gusau, Zamfara State, Lawal holds a BSc, MSc in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, and a PhD in Business Administration from Usmanu Danfodiyo University.

Before entering politics, Lawal worked as a banker, serving as the Executive Director, Public Sector North, of First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

Lawal ran for the office of Governor of Zamfara State in the APC primary election in 2018 but lost to Mukhtar Shehu Idris.

He later joined the PDP and won the 2023 gubernatorial election.

Lawal was sworn in as Governor on May 29, 2023, and has since focused on enhancing security, education, healthcare, infrastructure, economic growth, and good governance in the state.

Under his administration, Zamfara State’s internally generated revenue (IGR) increased from ₦90 million to ₦1.5 billion within six months, enabling the funding of various developmental projects

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