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The Gombe State Government has released N10.32 billion in gratuity payments to 6,665 retired workers across the state and local governments.
Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya announced the disbursement on Thursday during the official commencement of the latest round of gratuity payments in Gombe.
The governor said N6.24 billion was approved for 2,354 state government retirees covering gratuities for 2024 and 2025, while another N4.08 billion was released to support the 11 local government councils in clearing outstanding gratuity obligations.
According to him, the latest payment brings the total amount spent on gratuities by his administration since 2019 to N44.134 billion.
Governor Yahaya said the administration inherited a N21 billion gratuity backlog when it assumed office in 2019, comprising arrears from 2012 to 2019 for local government retirees and 2014 to 2019 for state retirees.
He said the government had paid N33.283 billion in gratuities before Thursday’s disbursement, adding that the latest release was another major step towards addressing outstanding liabilities.
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The governor said the payment would benefit 4,311 local government retirees and 2,354 state retirees, describing the beneficiaries as workers who devoted their productive years to the development of the state.
Governor Yahaya said the government had also approved N299 million in gratuities for former staff of the dissolved Gombe Investment and Property Development Company following the establishment of the Gombe State Investment Promotion Agency.
He added that he had approved the settlement of gratuity backlogs owed former local government chairmen and councillors from the previous administration to date.
The governor said all State Government gratuity obligations up to December 2025 had been settled, while gratuities accruing from January 2026 would be paid early in 2027.
He said the government was working on a sustainable mechanism, including a possible contributory pension arrangement or deductions from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, to prevent gratuity liabilities from accumulating in the future.
The governor also linked the clearance of inherited gratuity liabilities to the state’s ability to undertake recruitment more sustainably, saying the administration had previously limited large-scale recruitment because of the financial burden of outstanding retirees’ entitlements.
