Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has approved N400million for the payment of gratuities owed retirees of the state for the month of May.
Diri had previously and on regular basis earmarked N200,000,000 monthly for the payment of gratuities owed civil servants in the state, and that with the additional N200,000,000 approved for the month of May for the scheme, Bayelsa retirees now have N400,000,000 as payment for their gratuities.
The governor who gave the approval at this year’s workers day celebration in Yenagoa, the state capital while responding to the demands of labour leadership in the state, also restated his resolve towards government-labour partnership in ensuring industrial harmony and conducive working relationship.
He assured retirees that N400 million would be made available this month to accommodate a sizeable number of pensioners in view of the backlog of arrears owed them, just as he appreciated workers in the state for their support, noting that his government has prioritised workers’ welfare to enhance productivity.
He also approved a number of the requests made by the state chapter of the NigeriaLabour Congress(NLC), which include the implementation of the annual step increment as well as the release of funds for conduct of the 2022 promotion exercise for both the state and local government levels, this was even as Diri had also granted approval for the financial implementation of 2021 promotion exercise for workers and directed the relevant government officials to negotiate with labour to come up with feasible recommendations as soon as possible.
On payment of minimum wage to workers in tertiary institutions in the state, Diri explained that an implementation and revision committee had been set up under the leadership of his deputy and the report was being awaited for full implementation.
”I am not unaware of the long queue for pensioners’ gratuity monthly. As you are aware, we are treating the backlog of payment of gratuity. Therefore, for the month of February, we have looked at the figure and have come up with an addition. Monthly, we release N200 million for pension and gratuities. This month, we will add an additional N200 million. In other words, N400 million will be made available for the payment of pensions and gratuities”, he said.
The Tide reports that the Bayelsa state chief executive equally directed the Commissioner for Education, Dr.Gentle Emelah, to come up with recommendations for the monthly running cost of government-owned technical colleges for immediate implementation, just as he as well directed the relevant officials in the Ministry of Health to ensure the payment of call-duty allowance to specialist nurses as approved in 2014 in tandem with extant rules.
According to governor Diri, his administration is establishing technical colleges across the eight local government areas of the state to train people to become employers of labour rather than becoming job seekers.
Meanwhile in a joint address by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC), presented by the state NLC chairman, Comrade John Ndiomu, labour has laudes the governor Diri’s administration for its workers-friendly posture.
The NLC and TUC applauded the governor for prompt payment of salaries and gratuities, infrastructure development and numerous other projects that were ongoing across the state.
Ndiomu equally commended the state government for releasing N117 million monthly to support the payment of primary school teachers in the local government councils of the state.
According to him, complete implementation of the Oracle payment system at the state level and the building of a befitting edifice for the state’s media organisations were some of the achievements that have endeared Diri to workers in the state.
Highpoint of the celebration was the pronouncement of cash award by the governor for the march past.
The state chapter of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria clinched the first prize of N2million while the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives got the second prize of N1.5million and the third prize of N1 million went to the state branch of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners.

By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa