Civil servants across Borno State have expressed excitement following the payment of their leave grants and outstanding promotional benefits covering three years.
Key Highlights
- Three years’ promotions paid
- Leave grants reach workers
- Labour commends Zulum
- Salary arrears review ordered
- Pension liabilities being cleared
The payments, which began reflecting in workers’ accounts on Thursday, continued through the weekend, following a directive by Governor Babagana Zulum for the immediate settlement of the outstanding entitlements.
The approval followed a meeting held on Monday, August 17, between Governor Zulum and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).
The meeting came after the office of the state head of service submitted a proposal on the outstanding workers’ entitlements for the governor’s consideration.
Governor Zulum subsequently directed the immediate implementation of promotional benefits for civil servants for 2023, 2024 and 2025, as well as payment of leave grants for eligible workers for the 2025 session.
He also directed a review of salary arrears owed staff of secondary and tertiary institutions, with a view to commencing implementation by September 2026.
The development has been welcomed by organised labour, which described the prompt payment as evidence of the governor’s commitment to workers’ welfare.
The NLC Chairman, Yusuf Inuwa, and his TUC counterpart, Mohammed Baba, commended Governor Zulum for what they described as the swift release of the payments.
“We would like to commend the governor for the prompt payment of the 2023, 2024 and 2025 promotional benefits and leave grants.
“Less than one week after the governor’s directive, the payments hit the accounts of civil servants,” the labour leaders said.
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They also praised the governor for what they described as the consistent and prompt payment of monthly salaries, pensions and other workers’ entitlements throughout his tenure.
“Zulum is a listening governor. Whenever we present him with workers’ demands, he addresses them immediately. This demonstrates his commitment to civil servants’ welfare,” they added.
Since assuming office in 2019, the Zulum administration has prioritised the welfare of serving and retired workers, including efforts to clear inherited pension and gratuity liabilities.
Among the interventions are the release of N8 billion to clear pension and gratuity liabilities accrued between 2019 and 2021 for retired primary school teachers and other civil servants.
The administration also released N5.8 billion to settle outstanding gratuity liabilities owed families of deceased civil servants and pensioners, while N200 million is allocated monthly for the payment of outstanding gratuities.
Other initiatives include the implementation of a health insurance scheme and measures aimed at improving workers’ transportation and general welfare.
Governor Zulum has repeatedly pledged to ensure that all outstanding workers’ entitlements are settled before the end of his tenure.
