The Kwara State Government has inaugurated two nonpartisan technical committees to verify and clean up gratuity records for state and local government pensioners, with a view to ensuring transparent and chronological payment of outstanding benefits.

In a statement on Friday, the Commissioner for Finance, Dr Hauwa Nuru, said the move is aimed at “ensuring accuracy and transparency in compiling outstanding gratuities for eligible pensioners in readiness for automated bank transfer payments.”

The state-level eight-member committee is chaired by the Auditor General of the State, while the Local Government Committee is headed by the Local Government Auditor General.

Members include representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), retired permanent secretaries, retired civil servants’ associations, and accounting professionals certified by ICAN and ANAN.

The state committee has Mrs Iyabo Adebayo as secretary, while Mrs Amina Ahmed serves as secretary for the local government committee.

According to Dr Nuru, the committees will verify gratuity schedules from the pension board, confirm pensioners’ identities using PSN and NIN data, reconcile records, and recommend payments starting from the oldest pending year based on available funds.

“This initiative ensures fairness, accountability, and audit readiness. Payments will follow a first-come, first-served basis — from those who retired earliest — to end the backlog systematically,” she said.

The committees are also mandated to collaborate with the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the Pension Boards to achieve full reconciliation before disbursements begin.