The immediate past Chairman of Kano State Pension Fund Trustee, Alhaji Sani Dawaki Gabasawa has said that if Kano state government will sustain the culture of depositing a sum of N300m monthly, the state would offset the backlog of N16bn pension allowance within a short period.
Speaking to Chronicle, Gabasawa said since the introduction of the system by the Ganduje-led administration, the pension agency had paid N43bn to pensioners as pension allowance and also settled debt of over N11bn.
Gabasawa explained that the agency was expecting a sum of N49bn from various parastatals and agencies that have not remit monies meant for their retired workers to the pension fund.
He added that if the agency could recover these monies, it would not rely on government in settling allowances of pensioners in the state.
Gabasawa said, “With this system on ground, the state pension agency would have no problem in paying pensioners their allowances. If the state government will continue to deposit some funds with the agency on monthly basis, I can assure you, within no time, the agency will settle the outstanding pension allowances of N16bn.
“We have tested this system and it works perfectly. So, if government continue with it, the unpaid the allowance would be offset. The agency is committed to payment of pensioners their entitlements in time.”
He appreciated the support given to the fund by governor Ganduje in the last four years, appealing to the governor to maintain the tempo throughout his second tenure.