Kwara clears N3.3bn LG pension arrears

The Kwara State Government says it has cleared N3.3bn outstanding pension debts inherited from the previous administration for local government workers, as part of efforts to gradually offset accumulated gratuity arrears in the state.

The Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Hauwa Nuhu, disclosed this on Tuesday during the 2025 third quarter inter-ministerial press briefing held in Ilorin, the state capital.

She said the government met a backlog of local government gratuities amounting to over N19bn as of 2009, out of which N12bn had been paid so far.

“Gratuities for local government workers have been cleared up to 2011, while N2.5bn has been earmarked for the payment of 2012, 2013, and 2014 arrears,” Nuhu said.

The commissioner further explained that gratuity payments for state civil servants had been cleared up to 2016, though about N22bn was still being owed.

According to her, the administration has earmarked N5.6bn from the state’s Internally Generated Revenue for the third quarter of 2025 to settle part of the outstanding gratuities.

She noted that the state recorded an IGR of N15.7bn for the third quarter, all of which was paid directly into the Treasury Single Account in line with the government’s commitment to transparency and fiscal accountability.

“Our domestic debt currently stands at N57bn, which includes the N22bn gratuity component. We also have some direct deductions from the Federation Account Allocation Committee ,” she stated.

Nuhu attributed the rising gratuity liabilities to the implementation of two separate minimum wage increases since the beginning of the AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq administration, but assured that the government was working hard to clear the arrears.

“We inherited huge liabilities, but the government is doing its best to gradually pay them off.

“Our gratuity burden had risen sharply following the implementation of the N30,000 and N70,000 minimum wages and their consequential adjustments for retirees.

“We remain open and accountable. Our budget is publicly available on the state website, and anyone can assess our budget implementation. There is no vagueness or secrecy,” the commissioner added.