The Nigeria Union of Pensioners (NUP), Gombe State Chapter, on Thursday appealed to the state government to settle the backlog of gratuities of its members before May 29, toameliorate their sufferings.

Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, the state Chairman of the union, made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gombe.

He said that a lot of civil servants, who had retired for the past five years in the state, were yet to be paid their pensions and gratuities.

He said: “So many people are waiting for their gratuities for 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, and in 2019, people are still retiring.

“We understand that the Federal Government has released some money, especially through the Paris Club refund, while the Bauchi State Government has released billions of naira for payment of pensioners and gratuities.”

Abubakar urged Gov. Ibrahim Dankwambo-led government, which comes to an end in May, to settle the backlog of pensioners’ gratuities, to ameliorate their sufferings.

He advised union members to continue to pray to God for divine intervention, to ensure prompt payment of their pensions and gratuities. (NAN)