Politics
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Taraba State government is owing pensioners gratuities of about N14.9 billion. Hassan Abubakar, chairman, Taraba Union of Pensioners, who disclosed this told newsmen in Jalingo on Monday, January 9, that the government owed its pensioners more than N9 billion while it owed local governments’ pensioners N5.9 billion.
He said, though the payment of pension to the state pensioners was up to date, the government owed local government pensioners between two to six months due to several cases of omission.
Abubakar said out of the total 7,163 pensioners in the state, 575 of them who were recently captured as local governments’ pensioners had not been paid pensions for more than five years.
According to the union leader, the total pension liabilities for the affected persons stood at the sum of N28 million as at October 2016.
He identified non-review of statutory pensions after five years or during salary review, the lack of harmonisation of pensions after salary review as some of the challenges facing the pensioners.
Abubakar said that other challenges included the non-implementation of the 33 percent increment in pensions as required by Salaries and Wages Commission and the failure of the state to key into the Pension Trust Fund.
The chairman recommended to the National Assembly to approve N25, 000 as pension for all retirees, saying that the measure would address the challenges occasioned by pension reviews.
— Jan 9, 2017 @ 15:50 GMT
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