We don’t interfere with JAAC – Kwara govt

The Kwara state government has denied interfering with the Joint Account Allocation Committee in the distribution of local government allocations.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Demola Banu, in Ilorin, the state capital, on Thursday while responding to a reported threat by the Kwara state chapter of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees to sue the state government for its handling of the joint allocation committee.
Alhaji Banu emphasised that the allocation to the State Universal Basic Education Board for the payment of basic education teachers is statutorily treated as a first line charge on local government allocation, adding that the state government does not in any way interfere with the decisions of the joint allocation committee, but only participates in a supervisory capacity.
According to him, every decision made by the committee was based on the consensus of its members such as local government council chairmen and their treasurers.
He noting that the decision to concede the sum of N59 million to local government pensioners out of the N180million augmentation by the state government was based on the consensus of the 16 local governments at the JAAC meeting on Tuesday.
Likewise, the Commissioner said that the decision to concede 10 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 empathised 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 limit of the available resources.