No fewer than three thousand sacked civil servants in Zamfara State have reportedly turned to street begging due to economic hardship.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Publicity Secretary of the State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mallam Yusuf Idris Gusau, and made available to newsmen in Gusau, the State capital.

According to the statement, state government workers were not being treated well, saying that civil servants in the State were just existing, not living.

A pensioner, Muhammad Abubakar, told The Guardian that he retired from the state civil service in 1998, saying that his monthly pension still remains ?13,500.

“Since the creation of Zamfara State, no government has reviewed either the salary or pension structure,” he said, adding that many pensioners were still receiving ?4,500 per month.

“The governments, right from Abdulaziz Yari, have deliberately refused to pay the pension and gratuity of retired civil servants since 2014,” he lamented.

“Similarly, the immediate past governor, Bello Matawalle, now Minister of State for Defence, left three months’ unpaid salaries of the workers.

“When Governor Dauda Lawal came on board, he paid the three months’ unpaid salaries and also started payment of gratuities to retired civil servants.

“As I am talking to you now, all the retired civil servants who retired since 2024 have received their entitlements, while efforts are being made to also pay those who retired recently.” (The Guardian)