Kaduna releases N1.2bn for gratuity, death benefits of retirees

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has approved N1,235,000,000 for the payment of gratuity and death benefits of state and local government retirees.

Salamatu Isah, executive secretary of the Kaduna state pension bureau, disclosed this at a media briefing on Monday.

Giving a breakdown of how the funds would be disbursed, she said N1,035,000,000 will be allocated for the payment of the retirees and families of the deceased in the 23 LGAs.

The executive secretary further explained that the amount will be the 14th payment scheduled under the LGA gratuity for retirees and next-of-kin of deceased beneficiaries.

Isah added that N200,000,000 will be for the 16th batch of the state gratuity and death benefits in the defined benefit scheme.

The executive secretary added that shortlisted names for the 14th batch of the LGA and 16th batch for state beneficiaries would soon be published on its social media handles, at the pension bureau and other zonal offices of the local governments.

Isah dismissed reports that seven local governments have paid all their outstanding gratuities and death benefits under the defined benefit scheme (DBS).

According to her, the bureau only announced that Kudan LGA was the first to have settled its outstanding liability as of March 3, 2022.

She added that that there are still some unverified files that awaiting vetting and certification from the LGA auditor general’s office.