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| Governor Muhammadu Yahaya |
In a significant step toward resolving long-standing retirement liabilities, the Gombe State Government has begun disbursing N10.32 billion in gratuities to 6,665 state and local government retirees. Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya announced the sixth major tranche of such payments under his administration since assuming office in 2019 during a flag-off ceremony. Of the total, N6.24 billion covers 2,354 state government retirees for 2024 and 2025 obligations, while N4.08 billion supports the 11 local government councils in clearing backlogs owed to 4,311 retirees.
This latest release brings the cumulative gratuity payments by the Yahaya administration to a reported N44.134 billion. Prior to this disbursement, the government had already paid N33.283 billion. Officials note that the state-level gratuity obligations have now been settled up to December 2025, with amounts accruing from January 2026 slated for payment early in 2027. The governor has publicly committed to leaving office without a gratuity backlog.
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Inherited Burden and Years of Accumulation
When Yahaya took office in May 2019, Gombe inherited an estimated N21 billion gratuity backlog. This covered local government retirees dating back to 2012–2019 and state retirees from 2014–2019. At the time, both the state and local governments faced severe fiscal strain. Local councils reportedly borrowed around N1.3 billion monthly between 2013 and 2019 just to meet salary obligations, leaving little room for retirement benefits.
This situation was not unique to Gombe. Across Nigeria, many states have struggled with accumulated pension and gratuity arrears under the traditional defined-benefits (pay-as-you-go) system. A BudgIT analysis highlighted that pension and gratuity arrears across states reached hundreds of billions of naira in recent years, with 27 states reporting such liabilities even as federal allocations increased. Only a handful of states have managed to report zero or near-zero arrears in both contractor and retiree obligations. Many retirees nationwide wait years—sometimes more than a decade—for gratuities that the Pension Reform Act envisages should be paid far more promptly, leading to hardship, delayed access to healthcare, and, in some tragic cases, deaths before benefits are received.
Gombe’s approach has been incremental and phased. Earlier tranches included an N8.2 billion disbursement to over 3,000 retirees covering portions of 2021–2023 liabilities, with local government payments staggered according to each council’s capacity and outstanding periods (for example, some clearing 2016–2018 arrears while others advanced further). The current exercise continues that pattern, with specific year coverages varying by local government: Akko (2019), Balanga (2018–2023), Billiri (2019–2025), and others ranging from older backlogs to more recent ones.
Broader Welfare Measures and Fiscal Context
Yahaya framed the payments as a matter of right rather than privilege. “When we assumed office in 2019, we inherited a gratuity backlog of N21bn owed to state and local government retirees,” he said.
“From the outset, we recognised that the welfare of retirees is not a privilege but a right, and that every worker who has served faithfully deserves to retire with dignity and financial security.” He highlighted that the administration persisted despite successive shocks: the COVID-19 pandemic, economic recessions, the Russia-Ukraine war’s impact on global prices, fuel subsidy removal, and naira flotation.
Beyond gratuities, the government has implemented the new national minimum wage for state and local government workers, applied CONMESS and CONHESS salary structures for doctors, nurses, and other health professionals, and maintained relatively prompt payment of salaries and pensions. An additional N299 million was approved for former staff of the dissolved Gombe Investment and Property Development Company following the creation of the Gombe State Investment Promotion Agency. Approval has also been given to settle gratuities owed to former local government chairmen and councillors.
These efforts coincide with improved internally generated revenue (IGR). Gombe’s IGR rose from roughly N6.8 billion in 2019 to over N40 billion in 2025—a nearly 500 percent increase—through reforms at the Gombe State Internal Revenue Service, expanded tax coverage, and better compliance. The state has set a N39 billion IGR target for 2026. While still heavily reliant on federal allocations (as is typical for most Nigerian states), the IGR growth has provided greater fiscal space. Debt-to-IGR metrics place Gombe in a moderate position relative to more heavily burdened northern peers, though challenges remain.
Finance Commissioner Muhammadu Magaji described the current exercise as “a new chapter in the administration of pensions and gratuities,” calling it “not a favour, but a fulfilment of the obligation of government.” He praised the retirees’ contributions—“You have taught our children, you treated the sick, you administered our institutions, maintained infrastructure and kept the machinery of government functioning”—and linked the payments to broader fiscal reforms under programmes such as SIFTAS, SABER, and HOPE that aim to improve public financial management, budget credibility, and transparency.
Toward Sustainability and the Limits of Past Practices
A key challenge has been the structure of retirement benefits. Like many states, Gombe has operated largely under defined-benefits arrangements that accumulate liabilities when revenues fall short. The state enacted laws related to contributory or hybrid schemes in prior years and set up a technical committee in 2022 to review pension administration, but full implementation of a robust contributory system—complete with regular remittances, a pension bureau, and actuarial valuations—has progressed slowly. Yahaya indicated that the administration is exploring sustainable mechanisms, including a possible shift toward contributory arrangements or structured deductions from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, to prevent future arrears. “Our objective is simple: gratuity obligations must never again be allowed to accumulate and become an unbearable burden to the state and our retirees,” he stated.
Nationally, only a minority of states have fully implemented the Contributory Pension Scheme. The Federal Government recently cleared substantial inherited pension liabilities through a bond intervention and introduced measures for faster processing, offering a potential model. States that clear backlogs and transition to better-funded systems often find it easier to manage ongoing obligations and free resources for recruitment and service delivery.
In Gombe, the moral and financial weight of the inherited backlog contributed to delayed large-scale recruitment, even as the public service was described as already overstaffed in some areas.
The administration has nonetheless employed about 1,000 teachers, more than 440 health workers, and hundreds of others to staff new or expanded agencies. With the major backlog now substantially addressed, Yahaya said the state is better positioned for strategic, needs-based recruitment. Biometric verification systems have also helped clean the payroll and improve data reliability.
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Human Impact and Forward Look
For the 6,665 beneficiaries and their families, the payments represent more than accounting entries. Gratuities often serve as the primary lump-sum capital for post-retirement life—funding housing, small businesses, medical needs, or family support—in an environment of high inflation and limited formal social safety nets. Commissioner Magaji called the exercise “a restoration of hope.” Labour groups and retirees have generally welcomed the consistency of payments under the current administration, though sustained timely delivery will be the true test.
Yahaya appealed for reciprocal commitment from retirees, civil servants, and organised labour toward the state’s development goals. His administration’s broader Development Agenda for Gombe (DEVAGOM) emphasises infrastructure (including the Network 11-100 roads), education improvements (sharply higher exam pass rates and reduced out-of-school numbers), healthcare expansion, and industrialisation efforts such as the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park.
Clearing these liabilities strengthens social trust and fiscal credibility. It also illustrates a practical trade-off common in Nigerian subnational governance: prioritising inherited social obligations can constrain new hiring or capital projects in the short term, yet failure to address them erodes morale, encourages ghost-worker risks, and undermines long-term human capital. Gombe’s progressive reduction of the backlog—while growing IGR and navigating macroeconomic turbulence—offers a case study in disciplined, incremental fiscal management.
As the state moves toward settling 2026 accruals early in 2027 and explores structural reforms, the ultimate measure of success will be whether future retirees receive their entitlements promptly and with dignity, without the multi-year waits that defined earlier eras. For now, the N10.32 billion disbursement stands as tangible progress for thousands of former public servants who devoted their careers to Gombe’s institutions.
Samuel O. Sulaimon is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Naijapiz. He covers News, Sports, Finance, Faiths, Education, Technology.
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