Diri signs the contributory pension and appropriations measures into law for 2023.
Governor of Bayelsa State Douye Diri has signed the N389.37 billion 2023 Appropriations Bill into law. Additionally, he authorized the state’s Contributory Pension Scheme for elected officials, council members, and government personnel.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, presented the two bills for assent at Government House in Yenagoa. He explained that state and council employees would be required to contribute 8% of their salaries toward their retirement while the state government and councils, acting as their employers, would contribute 10% on their behalf.
Political office holders, according to him, are required to give 10% of their wages, and the state government and councils would make a 15% contribution on their behalf after they retire or leave office.
Ingobere stated that the initial amount for the 2023 Appropriation Law that was presented to the Assembly for consideration was N385.21 billion, but that after consultation with ministries, departments, and agencies, the figure was increased by N4 billion, bringing the total amount for the 2023 fiscal year to N389.37 billion.
As he signed the laws, Diri said that the Contributory Pension Law will remove the protracted wait time and traumatic experience that pensioners go through in order to get their benefits and other rights.
The governor emphasized the need of a legal foundation for the pension plan due to its significance and the fact that it would outlast his term.
He claims that both at the state and municipal government levels, the program applies to all state workers and those who hold political office.
Workers were given the assurance by Diri that the government will put the right systems in place to administer the money in compliance with pension legislation by hiring only respectable pension fund managers.
