Constitutional constraints stopped us from paying pension, gratuity to first civilian Governor – Kebbi Commissioner
By El-Yakub Dabai, Birnin Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government on Tuesday said it could not pay pension, gratuity and other entitlements to the first civilian governor of the state, Abubakar Musa Garkuwan Yauri, because his tenure falls short of the two-year minimum tenure required for certain severance benefits by law.
The Commissioner for Information and Culture, Alhaji Yakubu Ahmed Birnin Kebbi, made this clarification during a press briefing in Birnin Kebbi on Tuesday.
He explained that the former governor served from January 1992 to November 1993, a period of approximately 22 months, which, according to the government’s interpretation of the applicable legal framework, falls short of the two-year minimum tenure required for pension, gratuity and other benefits.
“The February 2010 directive by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission concerning pensions and gratuities for former governors and deputy governors under Sections 84(5) and 124(5) of the 1999 Constitution was very clear about this,” he said. He maintained that the relevant provisions did not extend such benefits to governors who served between 1991 and 1993.
He added that successive administrations in Kebbi State have based their position on the constitutional and statutory provisions governing such entitlements, rather than on personal preferences or political considerations. He cited the 1999 Constitution and the Kebbi State Pension and Gratuity for Former Governors and Deputy Governors Law No. 11 of 2004 as the legal framework underpinning the government’s position on the former governor’s pension and severance gratuity.
The commissioner maintained that Governor Nasir Idris has continued to demonstrate goodwill towards the first civilian governor in the state through financial and material assistance during festive periods, as well as sponsorship for medical trips to Egypt on more than two occasions, but his administration has been guided by relevant constitutional and statutory provisions on his pension and gratuity.
He stated that Governor Idris often reaffirmed his respect for the former governor as an elder statesman whose contributions to the development of Kebbi State remain acknowledged, stressing that the issue of entitlement is a matter of law and not a reflection of personal animosity or political differences.
He cited the naming of a hall at the Government House after the former governor in 2025 and the facilitation of his son’s appointment as a career ambassador as examples of the administration’s goodwill towards the former governor and his family.
He said the allegation of neglect and non-payment of entitlements raised by the first civilian governor in Kebbi State during an interview with an online TV, because of his membership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), was far from the truth.
