The Bauchi State Government has commenced the payment of outstanding gratuities owed to retired civil servants, with N10 billion approved to begin clearing liabilities dating back to 2012.

Punch reported that Governor Bala Mohammed, represented by his deputy, Auwal Jatau, disclosed this on Wednesday during the symbolic presentation of a cheque for the payment exercise.

The government said records from its validation process put the outstanding gratuity for state and local government retirees at N11.71 billion. The liabilities cover 3,570 state retirees owed N6.13 billion and 2,262 local government retirees with claims totalling N5.58 billion.

Mohammed said payments would be made in phases, guided by the age of the outstanding claims, verification of supporting documents and available funds. He assured retirees that the initial batch did not exclude other eligible beneficiaries, stressing that the government would continue the process until the validated obligations are addressed.

The governor also directed officials handling the exercise to prevent unnecessary delays and ensure that retirees are treated fairly and with dignity. Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Sulaiman, said the legislature had unanimously approved the release of funds for settling the outstanding gratuity.