Cross River Governor, Bassey Otu said plans have been concluded by his administration to approach the capital market to raise N24 billion to offset pension and gratuity arrears of retired civil servants.
This is contained in a statement by Otu’s Chief Press Secretary, Emmanuel Ogbeche.
The statement which was made available to newsmen in Calabar on Saturday pointed out that Otu had in his 100 days address, resolved to offset the arrears before the end of the year.
He had stated that the last time gratuities were paid to retired civil servants was in 2014.
The statement said: “Governor reiterated the government’s resolve to clear the backlog of unpaid gratuities owed retirees, and emphasised that the government cannot allow the aged to sleep hungry or be unable to afford their medications.
“Consequently, funds are being sourced from the capital market to redeem the debts owed retirees by the government”.
