Bauchi govt inherited N27bn pension arrears – Gov Mohammed

The Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, said on Friday his administration inherited the sum of N27bn naira in pension arrears from his predecessors.

Mohammed, who disclosed this when the leadership of the Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the state paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House in Bauchi, said despite the challenges, pensioners were now getting their entitlements as and when due.

He said: “Unless we are able to free resources, we won’t be able to employ people. We have a prevalence of ghost workers and we are working very hard to make sure we free resources in our personnel emolument within the nominal rolls that have been bastardized.

“Even though we got Paris club funds, we got bailout money, we were not able to settle all that.

“However, pensioners in Bauchi State are getting their money as and when due and in fact, even their retirement benefits, we inherited N27bn naira in pension arrears from the previous administrations.”

Mohammed revealed that his administration had recovered N500 million into the government coffers blocking due to sanitization of the workers’ payroll in the state.

He added that at least 2000 youth had been listed for training in agriculture.

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The governor said: “Right now we are doing a programme where we are selecting about 2000 youths to go for agricultural training and they are selected across the 20 local government areas of Bauchi State with equity and Justice.

“The second batch has finished a course in Abuja and they will be going in succession. We intend to spend a lot of money and to make them look inward to explore their potentials.”

The CAN Chairman in Bauchi State, Joshua Maina, thanked the governor for his effective handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state.

He said: “People said he set the pace and others have been following. Our ability to record low mortality is borne out of nothing but sheer sincerity and commitment in handling this pandemic.

“I want to assure you that the work you have done, you have not done it for humanity, you have done it for God and he is going to reward you in due course.”

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