The Benue State Government has revealed that its pension arrears have surged from N400 million to N1 billion over the past three years, following the discovery of thousands of previously unregistered pensioners during a recent data verification exercise.
Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Makurdi, the State Commissioner for Finance, Michael Oglegba, said the current administration inherited massive debts, including up to 48 months of unpaid salaries and pensions.
“When we assumed office, we found that many pensioners had not been captured in the system for up to three years. Once we included them, the pension backlog rose from N400 million to N1 billion,” Oglegba disclosed.
Despite the rising financial burden, he assured workers and retirees that the government remains committed to gradually offsetting all outstanding payments. He noted that salary arrears varied across the state’s workforce, with some employees owed up to 12 months and others seven.
To tackle the issue, the government adopted a phased repayment approach. So far in 2024, five months of arrears have been cleared, with plans to settle another five months in 2025, subject to available resources.
Oglegba added that salary backlogs at Benue State University (BSU) and several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have already been cleared, while payments for other institutions are ongoing.
He emphasized that the government has never claimed to have cleared all arrears but is addressing them in stages. The commissioner also highlighted the impact of the recent revalidation exercise, which uncovered ghost workers and trimmed the state’s monthly wage bill. The resulting savings have been redirected to alleviate pension liabilities.
Oglegba clarified that while institutions such as BSU and the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH) are not classified as civil service, the state provides them with monthly financial support to meet their salary obligations.
In a related development aimed at improving worker welfare, the government has implemented a new minimum wage policy. Salaries for workers on grade levels 7 to 17 have been increased from N18,000 to N75,000, while those on levels 1 to 6 now earn N75,000, up from N30,000.
