By Dipo Olowookere
Kwara State Governor, Mr Abdulfatah Ahmed, has restated his willingness to assist local government councils in the state to meet their obligations such as the payment of salaries and pensions.
Governor Ahmed, who spoke through a statement issued on Thursday by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Dr Muideen Akorede, in response to a press conference by the state chapter of the Local Government Pensioners Association of Nigeria blaming the state government for the salary and pension arrears at the LG, however stressed that such assistance is subject to resources at the state government’s disposal.
The Governor emphasized that the unfortunate salary and pension arrears being experienced at LG level in the state, while sad, is due to reduced federal allocations to all tiers of government including local councils that are responsible for the payment of LG salaries and pensions.
He, however, noted that despite this, the state government has severally augmented allocations to the councils in order to enhance their capacity to pay monthly salaries and pension.
The Governor, therefore, urged pensioners and others affected by arrears at the local councils to exercise patience, while expressing optimism that allocation to all tiers of government will soon increase, based on Federal government’s ongoing effort to build peace in the Niger/Delta region, rise in the price of crude oil and KWIRS effort to shore up the revenue generating capacity of the local councils.
Additionally, Mr Ahmed assured that the state government will continue to maintain its open door policy on dialogue with stakeholders and urged aggrieved parties to always utilize that option.
Adedapo Adesanya