The Bauchi State Chapter of the APC notes the announcement by Governor Bala Mohammed of an allocation of 10 Billion to begin payment of the long overdue gratuity arrears owed to retired civil servants in the state.
While we welcome any effort aimed at alleviating the sufferings of our retired fathers and mothers who served Bauchi State meritoriously, we are compelled to state the following facts:
1. The governor must acknowledge that this payment is only possible because of increased federal allocations to states under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We urge Governor Bala to publicly thank Mr. President for making more funds available to Bauchi State. It is not state magic. It is the APC led federal support.
2. 7 YEARS OF BROKEN PROMISES: Since 2019, the Governor has made repeated promises to settle gratuities. Why is this payment coming now, 9 months to the end of his 8-year tenure and 5 months to the 2027 elections? This is clearly a panic move after witnessing tens of thousands of Bauchi people, frustrated by his malversation, defect from APM to the APC.
3. PARTIAL PAYMENT IS NOT ENOUGH: N10 Billion is a “beginning”. Retirees are owed far more. Other states like Borno, Kaduna and Kebbi with less or comparable allocation have cleared their entire backlog. We challenge the Governor to publish the total liability and a clear timeline to pay 100% of the outstanding gratuities, not just a fraction for political optics.
4. TIME IS RUNNING OUT: With only 9 months left in office, Bauchi workers deserve to know: Will this government finish what it started, or will it leave another backlog for the next APC administration to clear? With at least 600 Billion Naira indebtedness, why did this take until now?
We therefore call on Bala Mohammed to:
1. Publish the full list of beneficiaries and years covered.
2. Commit in writing to clear ALL outstanding gratuity before May 29, 2027.
3. Appreciate President Tinubu and the APC-led Federal Government for the increased allocation.
4. Vulnerable and desperate retirees must not be left in the hands of Bala’s corrupt government officials to be taken advantage of, short-changed, exploited or made to pay bribe before accessing their own monies. And, payment must be based on merit and justice and transparent. It must not favour APM members over any other retirees of Bauchi.
The APC in Bauchi remains committed to the welfare of Bauchi workers. Our future administration will prioritize full payment of entitlements and workers’ welfare not election-season tokenism. And make no mistake, this tokenism will not save Bala’s anointed gubernatorial candidate – who’s currently being prosecuted by the EFCC before the Federal High Court in Abuja on charges of TERRORISM FINANCING and corruption from the verdict of voters of Bauchi on 6th February 2027.
Malam Saadu Umar
Chairman, APC Publicity Committee
Bauchi State
