Counsel to the retired Head of Service and Permanent Secretaries, Tanimu Abdullahi, confirmed this to newsmen on Thursday.
Three years after Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State appealed to retired permanent secretaries to withdraw the court case over their pensions, their situations remain unresolved with promises made by the governor yet to be fulfilled.
Counsel to the retired Head of Service and Permanent Secretaries, Tanimu Abdullahi, confirmed this to newsmen on Thursday.
The dispute dates back to March 2020, when the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai reduced the pensions of the affected retirees by 80 percent which was contrary to Section 210 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution as amended.
Dissatisfied with the development, the retired officials approached the National Industrial Court (NIC), which in July 2021 ordered the Kaduna State Government to restore their full pensions and pay outstanding arrears estimated at nearly ₦1billion within 30 days.
However, the former Governor, El-Rufai failed to comply with the court ruling, prompting them to return to court where they secured a garnishee order on three government bank accounts to enforce the judgment.
It’s understood that they were on the verge of enforcing the garnishee order when Governor Uba Sani, shortly after assuming office, invited them to a meeting in October 2023 and urged them to withdraw the case in favour of an out-of-court settlement.
The retirees firmly believed the governor as a democrat who has a record of respect for court judgements and withdrew the case accordingly.
At the meeting, the governor reportedly promised to include their entitlements in the 2024 budget, set up a committee to advise the government on the matter, and implement its recommendations.
The committee chaired by the then Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Sule Shuaibu (SAN), was subsequently constituted. Although provisions for the retirees were said to have been captured in the 2024 and subsequent budgets, however, no payments have been made to them.
Furthermore, at that meeting the governor had explained that the state was facing financial constraints.
However, he gave approval to increase what they were receiving under the previous administration by 200 percent which translates to 60% of their entitlements, leaving an outstanding balance of 40% of their approved normal entitlements up till date.
“Despite this, the agreement has not been honoured, leaving our arrears to continue accumulating while our living conditions worsen.
“This very unfortunate and pathetic situation has taken a great toll on all of us, the affected retirees. It has resulted in the death of 19 out of 80 of us with many of the deaths linked to stress-related health complications and worsened economic conditions,” one of the retirees lamented.
Their present predicaments have been heightened by the release of N4.2 billion recently for the payment of pension benefits to some retirees in which they were not among the beneficiaries.
“This should likely be an oversight by the governor and needs to be looked into accordingly.
“This is a clarion call on Governor Uba Sani to be a man of his words and fulfill his promises and implement the court judgment as a listening governor,” the retirees further pleaded
