The Cross River state government has uncovered a total of two thousand ghost pensioners on its payroll.
The ‘pension thieves’ have reportedly contributed to the delays in paying the accumulated backlogs of gratuities from 2014 to 2024.
Recall that the state Governor Bassey Otu had months ago set up a committee to review the retired civil and Public servants’ payroll to ensure it is free of pension thieves.
However, Nsa Gill, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Bassey Otu on Friday in a statement, confirmed the latest discovery in the payroll by the committee set up by Governor Bassey Otu.
The identities of the pension thieves have not yet been disclosed.
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According to Gill, “So far, the audit and verification exercise has uncovered over 2,000 (Two Thousand) ghost pensioners, who have consequently been expunged from both the State and Local Government Pensions Payrolls.”
Nsa in a statement on Friday said With the near completion of the exercise to authenticate genuine pensioners, payment of gratuities will commence in August 2024. The Committee led by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) has one week from the date of its first meeting to submit its report to the Government.
The Government House spokesperson added that Governor Bassey Edet Otu, “has approved the sum of N10 Billion Naira only, to address the outstanding payment of Gratuity for retired Civil and Public Servants in the State.”
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He said the Governor has equally approved the constitution of a Committee of the Executives of State and Local Government Pension Unions under the headship of the Secretary to the State Government.
The Committee is expected to meet with the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) on Monday, 29th July 2024 to work out modalities for the payment of gratuities to retired Civil and Public Officers in Cross River State.
The government inherited a backlog of unpaid gratuities of retirees dating back to the year 2014, a condition that met a promise by the present administration to commence payment last year, but the promise is yet to materialize.