By Steve Oni, Ilorin
The Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, over the weekend warned of imminent collapse of local government areas in most parts of the country should the dwindling federal allocation to the third tier of government persist.
The governor made the observation at a media parley in Ilorin as part of the 50th anniversary celebration. He maintained that the continuous dwindling allocation had continued to threaten the existence of the local government structure.
He said: “If the problems of the local government areas must be permanently laid to rest, the revenue base of local government areas must be broadened. Local Government Areas require to be reformed along financial sustainability and independence if they are to carry out their statutory obligations at the grassroots.”
Ahmed, who described as mischievous blaming state governments for the incapacity of some Local Government Areas to meet their statutory financial obligations of paying salaries, insisted that the state government did not deduct any penny from allocations due to the third tier of government.
According to the governor, the term Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC), does not imply a joint account between the state and the local governments but a joint account among the 16 council areas. He insisted that the state government did not share out of the local government allocation.
On his activities in the last six years, Governor Ahmed said his administration had invested in education, health, infrastructure and human capital development to improve socio-economic development of the state.
The governor promised to sustain his strategic approach to issues and programmes with a view to making the state more economically viable.
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