By
Ya’u Waziri
Gombe State Executive Council has approved over ten billion naira for the payment of outstanding gratuities to retired civil servants at the state and local government levels.
The approval was among decisions reached at the 56th meeting of the Council, presided over by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya.
Briefing journalists after the meeting, Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Muhammad Gambo Magaji, said 2.18 billion naira and 4.06 billion naira were approved to settle state retirees’ outstanding gratuities for 2024 and 2025.
He said the latest approval brings the total gratuities paid by the administration since 2019 to over 36.5 billion naira and clears all outstanding liabilities at the state level.
Similarly, Commissioner for Local Government and Community Development, Sani Ahmad Haruna, said 4.08 billion naira was approved to settle outstanding gratuities owed by the eleven local governments.
The Council also approved 6.1 billion naira as the state’s 50 per cent counterpart fund for the 2026 Universal Basic Education Commission intervention, enabling Gombe to participate in the HOPE-EDU programme.
The intervention will focus on improving learning outcomes, reducing the number of out-of-school children and strengthening teacher recruitment and monitoring.
Other approvals include road projects under RAMP, expansion of Nayi-Nawa School at Buhari Estate, installation of more than one thousand solar streetlights across parts of Gombe metropolis, and infrastructure projects at the Muhammadu Buhari Industrial Park.
The Council also approved the handing over of the Kaltungo Snake Bite Treatment and Research Hospital to the Federal Government for conversion to the National Snake Bite and Medical Centre.
It further approved a statewide free surgical and medical outreach for less-privileged residents across the eleven local government areas.
On security, the Council disclosed that Gombe will host the 27 Armoured Brigade and its Garrison, as well as the 271 Tank Battalion in Bajoga and the 272 Tank Battalion in Kaltungo.
The state government says temporary sites and logistical support have been approved to facilitate the immediate take-off of the military formations.
