Kaduna State has cleared about N18 billion of the pension and gratuity arrears inherited by the Uba Sani administration. The administration approved N3.659 billion for 1,339 beneficiaries in September, bringing total pension-related payments since May 2023 to N21.455 billion for 9,683 beneficiaries. This payment includes N515 million for 210 local government retirees and N3.144 billion for 1,129 beneficiaries under the Contributory Pension Scheme.
The Kaduna State government had previously put the pension and gratuity liabilities inherited in 2023 at approximately N24 billion. On that basis, the reported N18 billion clearance represents about 75 percent of the inherited liability. However, the remaining N6 billion should not be described as Kaduna's current pension debt, as the published figures do not establish whether it represents the entire outstanding portion of the inherited liability or how subsequent obligations have changed the state's overall pension position.
The N21.455 billion cumulative payment covers pension, gratuity, and death-benefit payments made since May 2023, while the N18 billion figure refers specifically to the inherited pension and gratuity arrears. They are therefore not directly interchangeable measures of the state's outstanding obligations. In April 2026, the state government approved another N4.289 billion for 1,637 beneficiaries, comprising N3.915 billion for 1,392 CPS beneficiaries and N374 million for 245 beneficiaries under gratuity and death-benefit categories.
The government said that payment brought cumulative pension-related disbursements under the Sani administration to N17.796 billion for 8,344 beneficiaries at the time. The September approval subsequently increased the reported cumulative payment to N21.455 billion and the number of beneficiaries to 9,683. The figures show continued payments to beneficiaries under both the DBS and CPS, alongside settlements involving gratuities and death benefits.
However, the state's publicly available documents do not provide a consolidated snapshot of what Kaduna still owes. The state's publicly available documents include payment schedules covering retirement gratuities, accrued rights, and state and local government pension beneficiaries. These records provide details of individual payment batches but do not establish a single September 2026 figure for the state's total outstanding pension liability.
For public-finance analysis, the distinction is significant. Cumulative payments measure what government has disbursed over time, while a liability figure measures what remains payable. Consequently, the N21.455 billion cumulative disbursement cannot, by itself, be used to calculate the amount Kaduna still owes. New pension and gratuity obligations also arise as public servants retire and eligible beneficiaries become entitled to payments.
The Kaduna State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners has previously acknowledged government payments while indicating that some pensioners were still awaiting their entitlements. An updated liability statement would therefore provide a clearer basis for assessing the scale of the remaining backlog and the state's capacity to meet continuing pension obligations.
Key points
- Kaduna State clears N18 billion of pension arrears inherited by the Uba Sani administration.
- Total pension liability remains undisclosed, making it unclear what Kaduna still owes.
- The state has disbursed N21.455 billion to 9,683 beneficiaries in pension-related payments since May 2023.
