Gov Otu Approves 10b For Gratuities

• 2,000 ghost pensioners uncovered in CRS.

Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State have approved 10 billion naira for payment of outstanding gratuities to civil and public servants in the state, this was made known to Journalists by his Chief Press Secretary Nsa Gill over the weekend. The CPS also alerted the media of a discovery of 2,000 ghost pensioners by a committee set up by the governor. The CPS disclosed that the pension thieves, whose identities are yet to be made public have been the reason for the delay in the payment of inherited backlogs of gratuities from 2014 to 2024.

It’s on record that governor Otu had set up a committee to review the retired civil and public servants payroll some months ago to sanitize it of pension thieves.

“So far, the audit and verification exercise has uncovered over 2,000 (two thousand) ghost pensioners, who have consequently been Aqq1expunged from both the state and local government pensions payrolls. The CPS said adding that with the sanitizing exercise completed,payment of gratuities will commence in August, 2024.

Gill added that the governor “has approved the sum of N10 billion only to address the outstanding payment of gratuity for retired civil and public servants in the state.”

The CPS also said that the governor has 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.

According to him, The Committee, is will meet with The Secretary to the State Government (SSG) on Monday, July 29, 2024 to work out modalities for the payment of gratuities to retired civil and public officers in Cross River State.

Governor Otu’s administration inherited a backlog of unpaid gratuities of retirees dating back to 2014, an he promised to commence payment since last year, but delayed because of the audit and verification exercise.