The Executive Governor of Zamfara state, Hon. Bello Mohammed Matawalle has assured that he would utilize the pensions claims that have been repealed by the state House of Assembly for youth empowerments and the development of infrastructure in the state.
Matawalle gave the assurance on Wednesday while assenting to the repealed law which allowed past governors, past deputy governors, past speakers of the state House of Assembly to collect about a billion naira annually from the state government coffers.
He stressed that pensioners who have served for 35 years are still languishing in penury due to the past administration’s failure to pay them their legitimate entitlements.
The governor regretted that the immediate past administration in the state left behind pensions liabilities to local governments, primary school teachers and state civil servants amounting to about N10 billion apart from other liabilities such as promotion benefits, workers annual increments which he said have put the state in a terrible financial quagmire.
“The immediate past governor Yari is requesting the state government to pay him about N120 million annually made up of a monthly upkeep allowance of N10 million,” he lamented.
“The law also extended similar largess to the former Deputy Governors, former Speakers of the State Assembly, and former deputy Speakers”
“If allowed thus, it will overstretch the lean resources of the state at a time when the same people who were supposed to pay the meagre amount as pensions to retired civil servants refused to do so and handed them over as liabilities to the present administration”
