WED JULY 09 2025-theGBJournal| Governor Dauda Lawal on Tuesday inaugurated the Zamfara State Contributory Pension Implementation Committee and received a report from the Joint Committees on the payment of the backlog of gratuities at the Government House in Gusau.
The Contributory Pension Implementation Committee is born out of a recommendation of a report on activities of pension administration in the State in past.
Part of the recommendations was to constitute the Contributory Pension Implementation Committee, which will, among other things:
-liaise with the Ministry of Justice, the State Pension Commission, and all relevant stakeholders to review and update the Zamfara State Pension Law for passage by the State Assembly as soon as possible.
-liaise with ZITDA to assess the ICT needs and staff training requirements of the Commission for immediate implementation;
-and, to produce a suitable transition strategy, period, and cutover date from the present pension scheme to a Contributory Pension Scheme.
This should include step-by-step implementation strategies to ensure strict compliance among all stakeholders, facilitating a successful rollout of the new scheme.
While inaugurating the Committee, the governor reiterated that his administration will ensure reforms in the Pension administration of State and Local Governments.
He noted also that his government prioritized settling the rights and benefits of civil servants, especially those who had retired after 35 years of service and reached the age of 60.
He equally confirmed that his administration has cleared N13.9 billion backlog of inherited gratuities for State and Local Government retirees from 2011 to 2013.
Governor Lawal noted that the clearance of the backlog of gratuity payments has boosted Public Servants’ confidence and restored public trust in governance.
He said his administration will continue to ensure prompt retirement benefits. To do so, the state government is ready to partner with regulated pension fund organizations aligned with our new reforms.
Governor Lawal also spoke on the implementation of the minimum wage in the State which at assumption of office was only N7,000.
He noted that the N30,000 minimum wage, which was passed into law in 2019, was never implemented by the previous government.
”Cognizant of our responsibility and duty to the state, we implemented the N30,000 minimum wage.”
”Upon reviewing the minimum wage, which increased from N30,000 to N70,000 in July 2024, we implemented the review after all due processes. Effectively, during my two years of administration, we increased the minimum wage in the state from N7,000.00 to N70,000,” the Governor said.
Sallah Bonuses and an end-of-year productivity bonus, also known as the 13th month salary, for all Civil and Public Servants and Public Office Holders have since been introduced and implemented by the State Government.
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