Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State has disclosed that retired local government workers in the state are being owed N6.2billion in gratuity.

Masari, who made this known during his maiden press conference in Katsina on Thursday, said the discovery was made by Transition Committee.

He said his government would publish all the findings of the committee for public information.

The governor also said the N3.7 billion which the immediate past governor claimed to have left in the coffers was in the SURE-P account and not the state government account.

“The past administration left only N9.9 million in the state government account. They claimed to have left money in the state coffers, while the state owed retirees N6.2 billion. So, it is better not to leave anything than to accumulate huge amount of unpaid gratuities,” he said.

Masari further said that the state had $78 million debt to contend with.

“Borrowing is not a fault, but how the money was spent is the major issue, because even the strong economies in the world do borrow money to finance their expenditure,” he said.

He said government had revoked all houses and hajj seats allocations to ensure fairness among people of the state.

Masari restated the readiness of his administration to operate an open door policy by designing policies that would enhance the living conditions of the people. (NAN)

•Photo shows Governor Masari.