The governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, on Wednesday, abolished arbitrary deductions from the allocations of local governments in the state, thereby granting them financial autonomy.
Alhaji Bello frowns on the various deductions from the councils’ allocations by the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, saying state laws could not override the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Speaking during a meeting with the local government chairmen, the governor directed the ministry to submit its running cost to the office of the Governor and stop exploiting the local governments.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Abdulmalik Abdulkarim, after the meeting, said Bello told the council chairmen to ensure pensioners and teachers were paid their pensions and salaries this month.
The governor urged the chairmen to ensure council workers were promptly paid their full wages, warning against profligacy, saying the chairmen must account for every penny received from the Federation Account.
He also tasked the chairmen to execute projects that would impact positively on the people of the state, reiterating his desire to visit local government areas to inaugurate projects.
In his remarks, the chairman of Yagba West Local Government Area, F.G. Ibrahim, thanked the governor for his historic intervention at freeing local government areas from the jugular of financial restrictions.
He canvassed for forensic audit of local government pensioners, advocating better supervision of teachers to ensure efficiency.
The chairman of ALGON in the state and the chairman of Ajaokuta Local Government, Honourable Alloysus Okino, thanked the governor for his clear directive on council properties, urging the chairmen to take possession of their properties.
Also, he said the decision of the governor to give local councils financial autonomy was a revolution that had heralded a new Kogi State.
He urged the chairmen to seize the opportunity and develop their different local government areas.