Pensioners in Zamfara State have expressed discontent about not receiving their pensions for the past four months.
Many retirees who talked to reporters said they were going through a difficult time because it was difficult to even feed their families.
One of the retirees, Mohammed Aminu, said he had sold practically all of his property to support his family, and that he could not afford even a square meal every day.
Aminu urged Governor Dauda Lawal to investigate the possibilities of resolving the four-month pension arrears to preserve the lives of many pensioners who have been ravaged by abject poverty.
He emphasized, however, that former Governor Bello Mattawalle was to blame for the pensioners' plight because he was unable to pay them for three months during his time.
“We are not blaming the present Governor of the state, Dauda Lawal, for the situation we are in at the moment because he inherited this mess from his predecessor, Bello Mattawalle”.
Malam Mustafa Jafaru Kaura, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Dauda Lawal on Broadcast Media, Press, and Public Affairs, told reporters that procedures were being made to settle pensioners in the same way as civil servants were settled.
Jafaru stated that the pensioners will soon be smiling, saying that "their issue is currently being discussed, and action will be taken soon."
He insisted that the delay in pension payments was due to the numerous inconsistencies detected in the list of retired federal personnel.
Some retired civil officials, he claims, have been deceased for a long period, but their names remain on payment vouchers.
He did, however, explain that the non-payment of three months' pension was inherited from former Governor Bello Mattawalle's government.
