Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has won praise from workers’ unions after his government cleared a N12 billion backlog of gratuities owed to retired staff of eight local government councils.
At a ceremony in Yenagoa on Thursday, over 1,000 retirees received symbolic cheques, ending years of waiting for their entitlements.
The Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees honoured Diri as Best Governor on Local Government Reforms in Nigeria during a conference themed “Promoting Local Government Workers’ Welfare: The Bayelsa Model.”
Presenting the award, NULGE President Comrade Aliyu Kankara said Diri’s reforms had restored dignity to council workers. “The Governor of Bayelsa State has excelled where many other state governors have failed in human capital development by prioritising the welfare of workers in the state, particularly those at the grassroots level,” Kankara said.
He noted that Diri introduced fiscal reforms that improved staff welfare, ensured regular promotions, and sustained financial benefits. According to him, the implementation of an N80,000 minimum wage for council workers, extra salary increases of 25 and 30 per cent, and government support for council payment of primary school teachers’ salaries are testimonies of the governor’s commitment.
Kankara added, “From available information, Governor Diri’s administration has paid over N20 billion as arrears of gratuity to retired workers in Bayelsa State since he was sworn in in 2020.”
The National President of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Dr Kabir Sani, also commended Diri, saying local government staff in his union had benefitted from the governor’s reforms.
In his response, Diri said paying gratuity and salaries should not be treated as an extraordinary achievement but as a duty. “The moment you retire at 60 or 65 years, you become a senior citizen and you are entitled to your gratuity. In other climes, it is taken for granted. Therefore we should not celebrate it,” he said.
He recalled being criticised for prioritising gratuity payments. “Initially, some persons queried it when I started immediately paying gratuities. They said previous administrations did not pay. I reminded such critics that my father was a teacher, a headmaster. If not for the opportunity of a child like me, he would have died without his pensions and gratuity,” Diri explained.
He further revealed that when the state once received a windfall in allocation, he ordered N7 billion to be used for gratuity and pensions in a single month.
Diri explained that the reforms became necessary as many councils were in heavy deficit when he assumed office. “My vision is to secure the livelihood of the people, enhance food availability and generate more revenue,” he said, restating his directive to council chairmen to take up farming in their areas of strength to boost food supply.
He also praised his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, for supervising the councils and ensuring the smooth rollout of reforms.
Earlier, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Thompson Amule, said only four councils could pay salaries regularly before the reforms, while others were crippled by arrears of wages, pensions, gratuities, and death benefits. He noted that staff promotions had been stalled for over five years until Diri’s administration intervened.
Chairman of Kolokuma/Opokuma council, Mr Lelei Tariye, who spoke on behalf of council chairmen, said local government autonomy was already being practised in Bayelsa before the Supreme Court judgment made it compulsory.
The highlight of the event was the presentation of N12 billion cheques to retirees across the eight local government areas, many of whom described it as relief after years of waiting.
