Under Governor Uba Sani’s leadership, the Kaduna State Government claims to have spent N19.9 billion on the pensions, gratuities, and death benefits of its government officials.
The disclosure was made during a one-day awareness campaign on “Data Recapture Exercise for State Public Servants under the Contributory Pension Scheme” in Kaduna by Prof. Salamatu Isah, the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna Pension Bureau.
Civil servant representatives from every MDA in the state attended the event, which was coordinated by the Bureau in association with the state’s Pension Funds Administrators.
Speaking to reporters soon after the show, the Executive Secretary advised the government servants to ensure their records were flawless in order to prevent problems when they retired.
“The state was still facing the challenge of inherited pension liabilities,” she said. “The current administration in the state had expended N13 billion on the state monthly pension scheme and local government pension between May 2023 and May 2024.”
She clarified that, within the same time period, gratuity payouts totaled N6.9 billion.
She went on to say that the current administration spent N13 billion between May 2023 and May 2024. She attributed this to the expenditure of five billion naira by the local government and seven billion naira on the state monthly pension system.
She stated that nearly 2,000 persons have received death benefits and gratuities under both the new and old programmes, totaling N6.9 billion, which she described as a significant amount spent in a single year.
The state’s enormous liabilities, she pointed out, are the only obstacle. She emphasised that while the liabilities have significantly decreased, more work still needs to be done on this, particularly because there are disgruntled teachers who have not received their gratuities and death benefits.
The primary goal of the plan, she continued, is to guarantee that all Kaduna civil servants have accurate records maintained by the Pension Fund Administrators, since this is the only means of guaranteeing a smooth retirement benefit distribution.
The Executive Secretary stated that the reason they had to redo the data capture was because a significant portion of the civil servants were recorded before there was a BVN or NIN. They wanted to avoid issues with name errors, BVNs not matching names, and National Identity Numbers not being recorded.
We also learned that not all Kaduna State public employees’ data could be accurately captured by the PFAs. The PFAs receiving comprehensive information on their clients when they retire is important, she continued, even though they have registered with the PFAs.
She emphasised that civil officials have been informed of their responsibilities through the presentations, and with the sensitization, those who have not completed the necessary registration with their PFAs would know what to do.
