Kano State Governor announces pension debt clearance and healthcare expansions

Kano State Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has announced significant advancements in the state’s healthcare and fiscal management. The administration has cleared N32bn of an inherited N48bn pension and gratuity backlog. Additionally, the government has increased the minimum monthly pension from N5,000 to N20,000 and continues to ensure civil servant salaries are paid by the 25th of each month.

To bolster the public health sector, the state has recruited 2,037 new health workers, including 250 doctors, 250 nurses, and 250 midwives. This recruitment follows a successful surgical outreach program supported by the Saudi Arabian government and the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre. During this six-day initiative at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, specialist doctors from Saudi Arabia performed free urological surgeries on 52 patients with zero reported complications.

This medical intervention marks the fourth such outreach by the Saudi team in Kano, following a 2023 program that provided over 2,300 free eye surgeries. Governor Yusuf indicated that the state is working to expand healthcare partnerships with Saudi Arabia, with plans to introduce open-heart surgeries in Kano.