Ebonyi Council Area to Offset Over ₦10 Billion Gratuity

Chinedu Ngwuta, Abakaliki

The Ebonyi Local Government Council Boss and Chairman Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) Ebonyi state, Chinedu Uburu, has announced a plans by the thirteen local government chairmen to backlog of over ₦10 billion gratuities owed to former council workers before the end of the year.

Addressing journalists at the ALGON Secretariat in Abakaliki, he assured, while the councils are not indebted in terms of pensions, they have inherited unpaid gratuities from previous administrations, a burden they now intend to address.
adding every outstanding gratuity will be paid because government is a continuous process.

He said the issue was identified early in their tenure as a major priority and that all chairmen across the thirteen LGAs are aligned in their resolve to tackle it head-on.
“Before we came on board, we identified these gratuities as a pressing issue, and we are determined to address it across all thirteen Local Government Areas in Ebonyi State,” he said.

Uburu noted that although, the total liability exceeds ₦10 billion, paying it in a single tranche is not feasible. saying,If we attempted to pay the entire sum at once, we would have to shut down operations for several months, as the combined allocation for all the thirteen local government areas is not sufficient to cover this amount,

He added that the payments would instead be made in phases, allowing councils to meet their financial obligations without halting essential services.
“We will make significant commitments and pay in batches until all gratuities are fully settled,” he said.

The move is expected to bring long-awaited relief to hundreds of retired local government workers across the state, many of whom have waited years for their entitlements.