In a fresh bid to address years of accumulated gratuity arrears and ensure fairness in payment to retirees, the Kwara State Government has inaugurated two nonpartisan technical committees to sanitise the pension records at both state and local government levels.
The committees, composed mainly of technocrats and Labour leaders, have been tasked with verifying existing gratuity claims and authenticating the list of eligible pensioners to guarantee that payments are made strictly on a “first-to-retire, first-to-be-paid” basis.
According to the Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Hauwa Nuru, the move underscores Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s commitment to transparency, accountability, and due process in the management of public funds.
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“The committees are to ensure the accuracy and transparent compilation of outstanding gratuities for eligible pensioners in readiness for automated bank transfer payments,” Dr. Nuru said in a statement on Friday.
The Ministry of Finance state gratuity committee, chaired by the Auditor General of the State, comprises representatives of retired Permanent Secretaries, retired civil servants, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), ICAN- and ANAN-certified accountants, and Secretary Iyabo Adebayo.
Similarly, the local government committee, led by the Local Government Auditor General, includes members from the Retired Local Government Civil Servants Association, the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, and Secretary Mrs Amina Ahmed.
Among their key responsibilities are verifying yearly gratuity schedules from the pension board, confirming pensioners’ identities using the KWSSRA SSID database and National Identification Number (NIN), cross-checking figures with official records, and prioritising payment recommendations chronologically, starting from the earliest outstanding year.
