Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has disclosed that his administration spent over N18 million to pay pensioners from May 2015 till date.He made the disclosure yesterday at the take over of 21 houses built by the Kano State Pension Fund Trustees (KSPFT) at Durumi district in Abuja. Ganduje explained that his administration is among the few states that pay their pensioners regularly, adding that over 26, 282 retirees were paid during the period under review
He stressed that even though his administration inherited a huge debt from the previous regime, N5.194 billion was used to settle pensioners’ death benefit during the period.
The governor disclosed that he had directed that N300 million be deducted monthly from the state’s coffers to ensure the regular payment of pensions and gratuities. He added that no fewer than 1, 270 names of non-existent pensioners were deleted from the payroll, after a verification by some consultants in the state. Ganduje commended the pension fund trustee for the construction of the houses, which, he said, was in line with his regime’s government effort to ensure a sustainable provision of shelter to its citizenry.
The Chairman of KSPFT’s Sani Gabasawa, explained that the houses were built in conjunction with the Urban Shelter Limited, under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) at a cost of N1.8 billion.
The Chairman of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Ibrahim Abdullahi commended Ganduje for meeting the needs of its members.He, however, urged the governor to consider an increment in pensioners’ entitlement, in line with the extant pension law, which specifies that a review be carried out every five years.
Culled from Guardian
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