News Editor
By our correspondent in Lafia
The Court of Appeal sitting in Makurdi has directed the Nasarawa State Government to provide a bank guarantee of over ₦1.6 billion as a condition to unfreeze its accounts, pending the determination of an appeal filed by the state government against 170 retirees.
The ruling was delivered by the presiding judge, Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill, in response to the state government’s application for a stay of execution on an earlier judgment by the National Industrial Court of Nigeria ordering the Nasarawa State Government and its 13 Local Government Areas to pay gratuities owed to the retirees.
It would be recalled that in 2024, the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in Makurdi, under Justice Isaac Essien, ruled in favour of the retirees, directing the Nasarawa State Government to pay over ₦1.1 billion in gratuities to members of the Nasarawa State Local Government Patriotic Pensioners Forum. Following this, the pensioners, represented by counsel Mr. Sunday Okpalle, sought additional payments for accrued interest, which led to the court ordering the government to pay over ₦1.6 billion.
In a move to enforce the judgment, the accounts of the Nasarawa State Government and the 13 Local Government Areas were frozen in 14 banks on December 12, 2024. However, the state government approached the Court of Appeal to challenge the lower court’s decision and sought a stay of execution.
Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill, after hearing submissions from all parties, adjourned the matter to March 6, 2025, for the hearing of the appeal. Meanwhile, the court ordered the state government to secure a bank guarantee of over ₦1.6 billion within three days as a prerequisite to lifting the account restrictions.
In an interview, appellants Mr. Sharif Ahmed and Mr. Yakubu Ede, from the Nasarawa State Ministry of Justice, expressed satisfaction with the appellate court’s ruling.
Counsel for the retirees, Mr. Sunday Okpalle, stated that his clients would abide by the court’s decision.
Reacting to the development, Alhaji Ladan Adokwe of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners and Mr. Clement Ode of the Nasarawa State Local Government Patriotic Pensioners Forum expressed differing opinions on the court’s latest decision.
As the legal battle continues, many of the affected pensioners have appealed to the Nasarawa State Government to resume payment of their monthly pensions, which have been withheld for over 20 months.
