The Kwara state
government has denied interfering with the Joint Account Allocation Committee
(JAAC) in the distribution of local government allocations.
This was
disclosed in a statement by the Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Demola Banu in
response to a reported threat by the Kwara state chapter of the Nigerian Union
of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to sue the state government for its
handling of the joint allocation committee.
Alhaji Banu
emphasized that the allocation to the State Universal Basic Education Board
(SUBEB) for the payment of basic education teachers is statutorily treated as a
first line charge on local government allocation. He added that the state
government does not interfere with the decisions of the joint allocation
committee, but participates in a supervisory role. According to him, every
decision made by the committee was based on the consensus of its members such
as local government council chairmen, their treasurers.
Alhaji Banu
further noted that the decision to concede the sum of N59 million to local
government pensioners out of the N180m augmentation was
based on the consensus of the 16 at the Joint Account Allocation Committee
meeting on Tuesday.
Likewise, the
commissioner said that the decision to concede ten per cent of the state’s
internally generated revenue to basic education teachers in the state was also
agreed upon at the same meeting.
On the Budget
support scheme, Alhaji Banu clarified that it was a loan provided by the
federal government to the state government and that it was not designated for
the payment of salaries.
The
commissioner, therefore, called on NULGE to adopt dialogue rather than threats
to promote the interest of its members.
He noted that
the state government empathizes with Local government workers and pensioners as
demonstrated by Governor Ahmed’s approval of N162m as augmentation for July
salaries and his willingness to assist them for the month of August within the
limits of the law and available resources
Tags
Politics