Enugu State pensioners are now receiving gratuities that date back to the year 2000.
Some of the arrears stretch as far back as the military era.
The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP) Enugu State chapter confirmed the payments at the weekend, according to Channels Television.
Retirees had waited decades for gratuities that previous administrations never cleared.
Ikechukwu Ekere, the NUP chairman in Enugu, described the moment as deeply emotional.
“Yes, I can confirm to you that our members have started receiving the alerts. Governor Mbah is a promise keeper; he has done it again and we can’t thank him enough,” he said.
A Promise Kept After Decades of Waiting
Kenneth Ugwueze, Caretaker Chairman of the NUP Local Government Staff Pensions Board Branch, said the payments had restored hope in many homes.
He credited Governor Peter Mbah with clearing debts incurred by several previous governors.
“You know what it means for a governor to pay debts incurred by many governors before him? It takes a large quantity of milk of human kindness,” he said.
Ugwueze added that local government workers and primary school teachers who retired previously waited two years for pensions.
Since the verification exercise ended in July 2024, however, local government pensioners have received their monthly pensions as and when due.
Luke Obi Ezea, who retired in 2014 after 35 years of service, said he had given up on ever seeing the money.
“I put in 35 years in service. Already, I had put everything in the hands of God because previous governors had made promises, but to no avail,” he said.
“But Peter Mbah is an action governor and keeps his word.”
Sunday Nwadi, a 2015 retiree, said the governor does not owe monthly pensions.
“I am enjoying today because, apart from this gratuity, he is not owing monthly pensions. He is up to date,” he said.
Susanna Emehelu, whose husband retired in 2013, said the gratuity would help ease long-standing health challenges.
“When I broke the good news to him, he was so happy and asked me to rush to the office to confirm,” she said.
How the Payments Were Structured
Tony Okenwa, the Enugu State Accountant-General, said the State Executive Council approved ₦32bn after several layers of verification.
The governor released an initial ₦10bn, and further releases will continue until the liabilities are cleared.
Okenwa recalled that Mbah insisted no senior citizen should go to bed hungry.
“These are old debts. Some of them date back even to the military era,” he said.
“But the governor has said that no retiree will stay without receiving his or her pension and gratuity, and he is very passionate about it.”
