Anambra State governor, Chukwuma Charles Soludo has decried the mountain of debt, empty treasury, and N20 billion arrears of gratuity he inherited from the immediate past administration.
Newsonline reports that Governor Soludo stated this while giving an account of his 100 days in office to the citizens.
Governor Soludo disclosed that not only did his government inherit an empty treasury, but retired civil servants were also owed gratuity arrears to the tune of N20 billion from 2018.
While stating his resolve to give Ndi Anambra good governance, Governor Soludo said his administration has made it a duty to immediately pay civil servants as they retire to ensure they do not go through regret in their retirement.
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Soludo revealed that retirees from March when his administration resumed office have been paid the gratuity; he also stated that his administration has also started paying the N20 billion arrears of gratuity he inherited from Obiano administration.
Soludo said, “I am not a fan of the fad about the first 100 days. I prefer to give you comprehensive annual reports and I look forward to the first one in March 2023. However, as a responsive government and as part of our periodic citizens’ engagement, we are providing this briefing on this short-term milestone. We will also periodically brief and engage you as our employers, through interactive phone-in radio programmes.
“Since February 2022, the contribution of oil revenue from NNPC to the federation account has been zero and many states have difficulty paying salaries. Thus, with declining revenue in the context of insecurity and a mountain of debt (including over N20 billion in arrears of gratuity to pensioners since 2018).
We launched a policy that no retiree from the State Civil Service will be owed gratuity under our administration and have paid retirees from March to date. We have also begun, albeit gradually, to pay gratuity to pensioners who retired since 2018 and there is hope and joy in the land. We have also approved the same policy for local governments.”
