The Katsina State government has disbursed N13.5 billion to settle outstanding pensions and gratuities owed retirees.

The amount covered the payment of outstanding liabilities to 2,313 retirees in the state and local government services since the inception of the Dikko Radda administration.

The state deputy governor, Faruk Lawal-Jobe, said this at a news conference on Thursday in Katsina.

He said, “The government has approved the payment of outstanding gratuity to the tune of N24,015,813,656.03 for both state and local government retirees.

“So far, out of the approved amount, the sum of N7,690,750,198.63 and N5,831,426,398.72, totalling N13,522, 176,597.35 has been disbursed to 2,313 retirees respectively, as at 26th November 2024.”

Mr Lawal-Jobe said the state government spent N90 million on training 3,200 civil servants to fast-track migration to e-governance.

He said the government also spent N333.8 million on training 947 workers as part of its drive to build the capacity of its workforce for effective service delivery.

The deputy governor said the state government released N200 million as refurbishment loans to civil servants to augment the N250 million already running under the scheme.

He said N957.3 million was expended on payment of wage awards and Ramadan packages to workers and retirees during the period under review, adding that the administration also introduced an annual merit award for the best-performing workers.

“In this regard, 14 workers had been identified for their outstanding performances where some of them got vehicles, while others recieved N2 million award each,” he said.

According to Mr Lawal-Jobe, the appointment of the permanent secretaries is now based on merit, as the process requires the writing of examinations and oral interviews to select the best for the public service.

He said that recruitment into the civil service was also based on merit, adding that the same process applied to the promotions for senior officers in the service of the state and local governments.

(NAN)