Imo retirees are in for a good time as the Governor of the State, Hope Uzodinma is set to commence the payment of gratuities to retirees in the state within the week.
The Governor is considering payment of the gratuities to the retirees from Tuesday, April 30, 2024 to coincide with this year’s Workers Day on May 1, 2024.
He gave the indication on Sunday at the Imo State Government Banquet Hall.
He said it is his desire to ensure that Imo State generates her own power in line with the master plan of late Governor Sam Mbakwe, as a way to help stimulate the economy of the State.
Also, he spoke about his plan to reform the Civil Service where the workers will be proud to put in their best while still in Service, with the hope that on retirement, they will reap the benefit of the efforts they invested working for the government by receiving their pension and gratuities promptly.
To further reassure the retirees of his readiness to commence payment, Governor Uzodimma said he has been saving money in a dedicated account tagged “gratuity” since 2020 when he took over power, and that he has resisted every pressure on him to tamper with the account.
He expressed confidence that there is enough money in the account to start dealing with the issue of gratuity.
He said: “I am not borrowing money to pay. I have been saving money in a dedicated account which I call gratuity, sometime N200m, at other times N100m, since 2020. I have resisted all pressure to tamper with the account and I can confidently say now that we have up to N10bn in the account to start payment of gratuities.”
However, he said retirees who manipulated their data so as to be paid more money as gratuity when they retired, contrary to what their true record shows, will have to be paid exactly what is due to them based on the accurate government records of time for their employment and when they retired.