From Abel Leonard, Lafia
The Nasarawa State government says it would sanction any civil servant caught in the act of delaying payment of retirees’ entitlements in the state as punitive measures on the top gear.
Disclosing this on Thursday at the end of a meeting with pension desk officers and leaders of pensioners union in Lafia, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Pension Matters, Alhaji Abdullahi Ladan Adoke, said it is time to ensure that pensioners are properly paid as when due.
“The state government had continued to receive a series of complaints and allegations accusing desk officers of demanding gratifications from retirees especially those from the local government before processing their papers to access entitlements,” he stated.
“That is what the government is trying to curtail and to ensure that all pensioners or retirees will not go through rigorous means to get their entitlements because of one civil servant who perhaps will. retired one day.”
He further explained that the state government will not hesitate to sanction civil servants who are in the habit of subjecting pensioners to hardships by creating unnecessary bottle necks that will make it difficult to access their gratuity and other benefits.
He reiterated the Sule administration’s commitment to focusing attention on the welfare of pensioners in the state, noting that plans had been concluded to set up a computerised template aimed at facilitating seamless and timely payments of retirees’ benefits.