Bayelsa State workers’ unions have commended the State Governor, Douye Diri, for clearing a N12bn backlog of gratuities owed to retired staff of eight local government councils in the state.
At a ceremony on Thursday in Yenagoa, symbolic cheques worth N12bn were presented to over 1,000 retirees.
Following Diri’s concern for the welfare of council workers, the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees honoured Diri as the Best Governor on Local Government Reforms in Nigeria.
NULGE President, Comrade Aliyu Kankara, presented the award to the governor in Yenagoa during a conference on “Promoting Local Government Workers’ Welfare: The Bayelsa Model.”
Kankara said Diri’s achievements include transforming the local government system in the state through the introduction of fiscal policy reforms that repositioned the third tier of government for better service delivery, staff welfare, regular promotions and financial benefits.
According to hin, the implementation of N80,000 minimum wage for council workers and an additional 25 and 30 per cent salary increase, as well as the government’s support to councils in the payment of primary school teachers’ salaries, were some of the testimonies of the union members.
“The Governor of Bayelsa State has excelled where many other state governors have failed in human capital development by prioritising the welfare of workers in the state, particularly those at the grassroots level.
“From available information, Governor Diri’s administration has paid over N20 billion as arrears of gratuity to retired workers in Bayelsa State since he was sworn in 2020, ” Kankara said.
The National President of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Dr Kabir Sani, also appreciated Diri for improving the lives of local government workers in the state, including those from his union.
In his remarks, Diri said regular payment of salaries to workers and gratuities to retirees were part of the reasons he was elected and should not be celebrated.
Diri revealed that he was initially accused of attempting to score cheap political points for doing the right thing in offsetting the backlog of gratuities, which dated back to 2007.
The governor, who said the challenges he met on assuming office necessitated the reforms, as several of the councils had huge financial deficits and relied on the state government for bailouts, added that his vision for government at all levels is to secure the livelihood of the people, enhance food availability and generate more revenue.
The governor restated his directive to council chairmen to embark on farming in areas of comparative advantage to boost food supply in the state.
“The moment you retire at 60 or 65 years, you become a senior citizen and you are entitled to your gratuity. In other climes, it is taken for granted. Therefore we should not celebrate it.
“Initially, some persons queried it when I started immediately paying gratuities. They said previous administrations did not pay.
“I reminded such critics that my father was a teacher, a headmaster. If not for the opportunity of a child like me, he would have died without his pensions and gratuity.
“Having that at the back of my mind, one of the priorities I had was to ensure that the backlog of gratuities were cleared. I recall a particular month we had a windfall in our allocation, I directed the payment of seven billion Naira for gratuity and pensions,” Diri said.
The governor used the occasion to commend his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, for effective supervision of the councils and for ensuring a proper implementation of the reforms.
The high point of the event was the symbolic presentation of N12 billion cheques to over 1000 retirees across the eight local government areas.
