By Haruna Aliyu

Kebbi state chairman of Pensioners Pressure Group, Alhaji Babangida Garba Gwandu, has described as regrettable the poor remunerations of Kebbi state pensioners under Bagudu.

Speaking at his residence in Birnin Kebbi, Gwandu said it was hard to believe that,  but it is true that pensioners who retired from service before the creation of Kebbi state between 1990 to 1991 are collecting one thousand and two thousand naira as pension.

He argued that when late Sani Abacha reviewed pension, he added 39℅ to pensioners. He said during Olusegun Obasanjo another 25℅ was added as upward review, Goodluck Jonathan jerked it up to 30, 000  and now Buhari government same thirty thousand for pensioners but no government in Kebbi state  including the present one in Kebbi ever added a kobo to pensioners despite successive upward reviews.

Gwandu noted that, upward review is a law not a privilege, noting that government is expected to implement the upward reviews to increase the pension to be above the mini present pension.

He lauded the government for offsetting the backlog of gratuities in the state, saying “we achieved that through dialogue with government and we will employ same measure to pressurise the government to increase pension in Kebbi state.