Governor Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state has announced that his government is clearing a backlog of N22.2 billion gratuity arrears inherited from his predecessor.
Soludo disclosed this during a meeting with public school heads in the state on Thursday.
The governor assured that his administration prioritizes prompt payment of entitlements to retirees, ensuring that no worker would retire without instant gratuity payment and pension commencement.
“As you are aware, we came at very turbulent times in terms of our finances,” Soludo said, emphasizing his administration’s determination to address the issue.
He reaffirmed his commitment to fiscal sustainability, refusing to borrow despite approval, and instead focusing on projects enabling future growth.
Soludo broke down the gratuity arrears: N14.6 billion for local government and primary school pensioners who retired between 2018 and 2022, and N7.6 billion for state civil service and secondary school retirees.
Soludo said, “I’m now 2 years and six months in office, and we have deliberately refused to borrow… “We don’t want to encumber the future… I’ll borrow to build capacity for the future.
“We are propelling projects and programmes that will qualify for loans, maintaining fiscal sustainability in Anambra under my watch.
“We now rank among the top states in terms of fiscal sustainability and viability.”
