Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto state has committed N500 million every month for payment of gratuities to retired civil servants in the state.

The Governor gave the directives on Wednesday shortly after receiving a report on the verification of unpaid gratuities between 2015 and 2023.

According to the report, the state has N14 billion backlog of accumulated unpaid gratuities from 2015 to 2023.

The report stated that, about 5000 retired workers await gratuities out of which over 900 were deceased.

Receiving the report, Aliyu noted that, the sum of four billion Naira would be released for the payment of gratuities before the end of the year.

He further explained that, the sum of N500 million would be released every month begining from May, 29.

"This is to put smile on the faces of our retired civil servants and their families.

"So the claim of the immediate past Governor (Senator Aminu Tambuwal) is however found to be untruth and misleading.

"Because up till now there was no a single record available showing that our retirees were paid between 2015 and 2023.

"As I received this report, I hereby direct the release of the sum of four billion Naira for this year to offset the backlog of accumulated gratuities," he mentioned.

"The sum of N500 million will be paid monthly beginning from this month. I want to appeal to the beneficiaries to utilize the money in a manner it will be beneficial to their respective families," he pleaded.