Uzodimma plans to pay gratuities to retirees
Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State, plans to begin paying gratuities to retired employees throughout the state this week.
This was revealed by the governor in a statement released on Sunday and signed by Oguwike Nwachuku, his media adviser and chief press secretary.
He is thinking of giving the retirees their gratuities starting on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, in order to celebrate Workers Day on May 1, 2024.
On Sunday, at the Imo State Government Banquet Hall, he revealed this while speaking on the verge of his and his wife’s birthday meal, which was held in honor of their Chief of Staff, Nnamdi Anyaehie.
Speaking about two main problems, Uzodimma expressed his intention to leave a lasting legacy. Firstly, he wants to make sure that Imo State generates power in accordance with the late Governor Sam Mbakwe’s master plan, which will assist boost the state’s economy.
He also discussed the revamped civil service, saying that employees would be motivated to work well while still employed in the hopes that, upon retirement, they would be rewarded for their efforts by getting paid on time for their pensions and gratuities.
Additionally, Uzodimma stated that he was prepared to start paying retirees gratuities on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, as soon as he believed the procedures for distributing the money to the recipients would be completed.
According to the statement, organized labor attendees praised the governor for his people-oriented policies and programs since taking office in 2020.
Since assuming power in 2020, Uzodimma claimed to have been saving money in a special account called “gratuity.”
“I’m not taking out a loan to cover this. Since 2020, I have been accumulating money in a specific account that I refer to as my gratuity—sometimes N200 million, other times N100 million. We have up to N10 billion in the account to begin paying gratuities, so I can declare with confidence that I have withstood every efforts to tamper with it,” Governor Uzodimma said.
Nevertheless, he stated that pensioners who falsified their data in order to receive a larger gratuity upon retirement, in contrast to their actual records, will have to pay the whole amount owed to them based on the precise government records of their job duration and retirement date.
We have a mechanism in place to handle everything. Therefore, Governor Uzodimma stated that this observation is required to prevent unwarranted expectations from people who, for example, retired on Grade level 10 but went and got a paper or letter claiming they retired on Grade level 15.
In respect to the government’s sincerity of purpose over matters pertaining to workers’ welfare, he expressed gratitude to the Imo State leadership of Organized Labor for their understanding of the situation and pledged to live up to their expectations.
At the birthday luncheon honoring Anyaehie, Uzodimma wished his Chief of Staff a happy birthday and expressed gratitude to the people of Imo state for their support.
Previously, Anyaehie stated, “In his 61-years, this was the first time he was ‘cutting a birthday cake in public,'” referring to Governor Uzodimma as his father and mentor.
Among the dignitaries in attendance were the governor’s spouse, Barr. (Mrs.) Chioma Uzodimma; Chief Ikedi Ohakim, a former governor of Imo State; members of the Imo State House of Assembly; the Imo State expanded Executive Council; and HRH Eze EC Okeke, the chairman of the Imo State Council of Traditional rulers.
