Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has signed the 2023 appropriation bill of N389.37bn into law, which was passed by the House of Assembly.
The Assembly added N4bn to the original appropriation bill of N385.211bn which Diri presented to the legislature for the 2023 fiscal year on November 7, 2022.
He also signed a bill on the state’s Contributory Pension Scheme for civil servants, local government workers and political appointees.
Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, while presenting the two bills for assent at the Government House, Yenagoa, explained that the state and local government workers would be required to contribute eight per cent of their salaries toward their retirement, while the State Government and Local Government Councils as their employers would contribute 10 per cent on their behalf.
Also, he noted that political officeholders were expected to contribute 10 per cent of their salaries, while the state government and local government councils contribute 15 per cent on their behalf upon their retirement or disengagement from the service.
On the 2023 appropriation law, Ingobere said the Assembly consulted with ministries, departments and agencies before jerking up the budget by N4bn, bringing the total amount to N389.37bn.
The governor after assenting to the bills said the Contributory Pension Law would put an end to the long delay and harrowing experience retirees go through before receiving their gratuities and other entitlements.
Diri stressed that the pension scheme had to be backed by law because of its importance which he noted, would outlive his administration.
According to him, the scheme covers all employees of the state as well as political office holders both at the state and Local Government levels.
He noted that through the contributory and collaborative approach, the scheme provides that the employer must contribute 10 per cent of their consolidated monthly salaries, while the employee would contribute eight per cent of the consolidated monthly salary as provided by the third schedule of the law.
Diri assured workers that government would ensure that proper machinery was put in place to engage only reputable pension fund administrators to manage the funds in accordance with pension regulations.
He said, “Upon assumption of office, we discovered that some of our elder statesmen that had served our state meritoriously over the period had died without collecting their gratuity. Most of them have been owed in arrears to the tune of billions of naira.”
