Enugu government to pay N32 billion in gratuity debts

The Enugu State Government has approved the payment of about N32 billion in unpaid gratuities owed to retirees. The first payment of N10 billion is set to start from next week.

Chidiebere Onyia, the Secretary to the Enugu State Government, shared this news on Friday. He spoke to reporters at the Government House in Enugu after a State Executive Council meeting.

Present at the briefing were Malachy Agbo, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Chimaobi Okorie, the Commissioner for Lands and Urban Development, and Benedett Okoli, the Commissioner for Human Development and Poverty Eradication.

Mr Onyia, who is also a professor, said this payment is part of the commitment of Governor Peter Mbah’s administration. He aims to clear the gratuity debts inherited from the previous government before his first term ends.

He explained that these gratuities are debts the current administration inherited. The Secretary noted that the state government has made plans to settle these gratuities in the 2026 budget, which the Enugu State House of Assembly has approved.

“This amount was included in the 2026 budget and approved by the Enugu State House of Assembly. It is part of the appropriation law,” he stated.

Mr Onyia stressed that this decision was not made quickly. It is part of a systematic approach to settle the state’s debts to retired workers.

In December 2025, the government paused the current gratuity verification process. They set up a new verification committee to check records starting from the year 2000.

He said this review aims to find out the actual debts by looking at the retirees’ records and supporting documents. The amount approved by the Executive Council is based on what the committee found during the verification.

The first N10 billion will be released to start payments. After that, more payments will follow until the total verified debt of about N32 billion is fully paid.

The Secretary also mentioned that the government is working on gratuity debts at the local government level. The amount owed there is over N10 billion.

Governor Mbah has called for a meeting of the Economic Council. This meeting will look into the local government debts so that retirees at this level can also start receiving their gratuities soon.

Mr Onyia clarified that the current focus is on legacy gratuities. The government has already started paying outstanding pension debts after verifying eligible beneficiaries.

“The gratuity owed to every retiree from 2000 will be paid,” he confirmed.

He added that the verification committee, which he leads, has gone through the records of 66,783 workers and pensioners.

This verification is important to prevent fraudulent claims and ensure payments go to the right people.

He also mentioned that retirees who have issues with the verification results can submit their complaints to the committee for review.

Mr Onyia said that clearing these inherited gratuity debts is a significant move. It helps ensure that the state does not keep adding unpaid retirement benefits for future governments.

He reiterated that the Mbah administration is dedicated to settling verified legacy debts while continuing payments to qualified pensioners. They also plan to establish a more reliable pension system for the state.