The Niger State House of Assembly has described the N900 million budgetary allocation in the 2022 budget proposal for the state pension board, as inadequate to cater for the pensioners.
Mr. Malik Madaki, the Chairman of, House Committee on Labour and Productivity, said this during the screening exercise of the 2022 budget of the board in Minna on Wednesday.
Madaki, a member representing Bosso State Constituency, said the proposed allocation for the board was not enough to take care of the pensioners, adding that the amount was unacceptable to the assembly.
“The budget allocation for the board is completely inadequate compared with what was approved in 2021 budget which spread across capturing statutory gratuity, monthly pension, and overhead.
“But in 2022 budget, the board was given an envelope of about N900 million, this allocation can not take care of the recurrent expenditure, meaning it can not take care of the monthly pension of retirees.
“In 2021, the monthly pension of retirees is about N551 million, and now they budgeted N900 million, this amount can only take care of one month pension not to talk of statutory gratuity and other expenditures,” he said.
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Madaki said the committee would invite the commissioner for planning to clarify issues as the budgetary provision for the board was not enough to take care of pensioners.
“We can’t overlook the budget, we need to interface with the ministry for planning; as representatives of the people, I want to believe that it was an oversight from the ministry,” he added.
Earlier in his presentation, Alhaji Muhammad Tinau, the Director-General, State Pension Board, argued that the supplementary budget would augment where there is a shortage.
He said that the board would continue to prioritize timely payment of pensioners’ pensions. (NAN)
