Gov. Ahmed vows to sanitise local council administration in Kwara

Ahead of the expiration of the tenure of local government chairmen in Kwara State, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has vowed to sanitise local government administration in order to create a self-sustaining system.
This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by Dr. Muideen Akorede, the Governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications.
The statement quoted Ahmed as giving the commitment in Ilorin at a meeting with the 2013-2016 local government councillors.
The councillors had visited the governor to appeal for the payment of their furniture allowance before the end of their tenure.
The governor said the current recession and the apparent inefficiency at the third tier of government had made it imperative to reform the management of councils.
He expressed the hope that the reform would ensure that councils pay workers’ salaries and embark on development projects at the grassroots.
The governor noted that by the time elections would be held into the councils, the local governments would have been made solvent through the ongoing IGR reforms and biometric verification of staff.
He assured them that once the government received the expected revenue inflows, the local government councils would pay the councillors their statutory entitlements due to them.
Ahmed said that the current financial challenges in the councils could not support the bulk payment of all outstanding payments, emphasising that government would work on payment by instalments.
The governor expressed concern over the salary arrears owed local council workers and political office holders, describing it as unfortunate.
Describing political office as time-bound call to service, Ahmed urged the outgoing councillors to key into the state government’s SME scheme.
He said this would enable them to continue to earn sustainable living after leaving office.