By; Mohammed Kawu, Bauchi
A committee saddled with the responsibility of verifying and disbursing backlog of gratuities owned retirees in Bauchi state has summoned two hundred and forty-three (243) beneficiaries of the exercise to turnup for the collection of their long awaited gratuities.
The 243 retirees who were among the 1, 285 verified for gratuities payment in the first batch for the 2012 and 2013 at both the state and local government levels, have failed to turn up for their entitlements during the two weeks period slated to the first batch which ended last weekend.
The Executive Secretary of the National Pension Commission (PENCOM), Ibrahim Inuwa who heads the committee said that the 243 retirees from the first batch disbursement exercise have as at press briefing time Sunday at the Government House, when the two weeks slotted for the batch lapsed, not appear to collect cheques for their retiring benefits.
Mr. Ibrahim Kabir stated, “In total, we were supposed to have dealt with 1,528 retirees in the first batch who were supposed to be paid out their gratuities. In reality, we dealt with 1,285, which meant we had 243 people who did not appear, or for one reason or the other didn’t come into the payment process”.
“However, even though we’re starting 2014 tomorrow, Monday 12th October, we’re appealing to those which he earlier mentioned, which is the 243 retirees, comprising of 84 people from the state and 59 for local government. We’re appealing to them. We’d like to use this medium to appeal to them to please still come even during this exercise of 2014”.
Kabir assured that the committee will attend to the 242 retires, stressing “We were supposed to have dealt with was 1,528 retirees, broken down into 377 for state and 1,151 for local government. However, what the number of people we attended to was 1,285, broken down into 293 retirees for state and 992 for local government”.
“We now have the balance of 243. Those 243 we are appealing to. And we go on or do we stop? The 243 are the ones that we’re appealing to, that they should please come up during the 2014 payment. We will still attend to them, and that number includes 84 for state and 159 for local government”.
He revealed that the committee has so far paid out the sum of N2.369 billion as gratuities backlog to 1, 285 retired civil servants at both state and local government levels in the first batch of retirees from 2012 to 2013.
It could be recalled that the State Governor, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed has consistently said it in various public fora that he would settle the retirees gratuities backlog before his exit from office in May, 2027
He explained that the committee has opened a window for the 243 retirees unable to appear in the past two weeks of the first batch which ended Saturday to come forward from Monday 12th October at the commencement of the disbursement second batch to collect their retiring benefits after completing the necessary procedures.
The committee leader who oversees gratuities payment to local government retirees, further explained that 1, 228 retirees are expected to benefit from the exercise, comprising 377 for the state, and 1, 151 for local government
Kabir explained that 1,285 retirees completed the payment process, including 293 state retirees and 992 local government retirees, as the 243 beneficiaries comprised 84 state retirees and 159 local government retirees failed to appear before the committee
He added, “Approximately N351 million remained available for the outstanding beneficiaries. Of this amount, about N147 million was reserved for the 84 state retirees, while N204.104 million was set aside for the 159 local government retirees”
Another committee member responsible for state retirees, Kola Oyerinde, revealed that the second phase gratuities disbursement would cover retirees from the 2014 batch, with 583 state retirees scheduled for processing and urged them to appear on their assigned dates, be
Governor Bala further recalled that the state government supported the implementation of rice project, built on the successes of Nigeria Wheat project, also implemented by MEDA and Global Affairs Canada, and supported 294 women and youth-run smallholder businesses to create wealth by promoting value chain development in rice, peanuts, and soybean processors.
The government also promoted the establishment of 590 savings groups in seven local government areas of the state, and from the successes of the implementation of the Nigeria Wheat project, it adopted the model to implement, especially in promoting the Village Savings and Loan Associations as a scheme, as well as funding provision.
“My administration believes that good farming does not stop at distributing seeds and fertilizer. It extends to ensure that when a farmer harvests, there is a reliable, lucrative, accessible market waiting for their output. This is where the Market Systems Development Framework of the Rice project becomes a game changer”, Governor Bala said
He also stated that it was through the state collaboration, Sahel Consulting and MEDA, that Bauchi was moving away from short-term fixes, fixing the whole market system itself by strengthening the critical value chains of rice, maize, groundnuts, and soybeans across the state, improving access to tailored financial solutions, modern offtake mechanisms, and processing facilities, integrating smallholder cooperatives directly into processing and international agro-aligned industries, thereby eliminating exploitative middlemen.
“We cannot talk about an inclusive market system without placing our women and youth at the center. Global statistics show that Nigeria, 2026, marks the International Year of the Women Farmer. In alignment with this global recognition, the 3 million Canadian dollar Rice initiative targets the creation of 10,000 decent agricultural jobs across Northern Nigeria and the major rice-producing regions of Jigawa and Bauchi state”
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