Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, has declared that his predecessor, Chief Willie Obiano left a huge gratuity problem for his government
According to Soludo, the backlog of arrears amounted to 22.2 billion naira for those who retired between 2018 and 2022.
A breakdown of the huge burden, Soludo said, was 14.6 billion naira for local government and primary school pensioners.
Also, he said 7.6 billion naira was for civil service and secondary school retirees.
The governor disclosed this during a meeting with public school heads in the state.
He said his administration prioritizes prompt payment of entitlements to retirees.
Soludo maintained that no worker would retire without instant gratuity payment and pension commencement under his administration
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“As you are aware, we came at very turbulent times in terms of our finances,” Soludo said
He reaffirmed his commitment to fiscal sustainability, refusing to borrow despite approval, and instead focusing on projects enabling future growth.
“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,” the governor said.