Retirees Hail el-Rufai, As Kaduna Moves To Pay N15bn Pension, Gratuity

Kaduna State retirees yesterday commended Governor Nasir El-Rufai, for the prompt payment of their pensions and gratuities under the new Contributory Pension Scheme(CPS) despite the fall in oil prices the nation is facing. This is as Kaduna State government has moved to settle the inherited arrears of pension and gratuity since 2011 which amounted to about N15billion,following the approval of supplementary budget by the State House of Assembly.
El-Rufai, who spoke during the launch of payment of pension benefits under the revamped Contributory Pension Scheme, said the interest of the pensioners and the sustainability of government pension obligations were uppermost in his mind when the state government championed the passage of the Kaduna State Pension Reform Law 2016.
The governor noted that over the years, the pension system has been a
nightmare for the pensioner, and a heavy strain and fraud-prone burden on the resources of government.
According to him, “ We do not think it is fair that the pensioner should face delays in payment or be subjected to the perennial stress of physical verification, often in arduous conditions. Of course, we conducted our own verification of pensioners and were not surprised to find ghost pensioners whom we proceeded to knock off the payroll.”
El-Rufai said, “But we knew that we needed new legal and institutional arrangements to manage public sector pensions.

Source: Leadership