Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State

The Kwara Government, on Tuesday, expressed its readiness to assist the Local Governments in the state in the payment of outstanding salaries and pensions.

The State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed, made this disclosure in Ilorin at an interactive session with the council chairmen and leaders of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE).

According to Ahmed, such assistance will, however, be based on the need of individual local governments as well as compliance with fiscal regulations.

Ahmed urged the NULGE executives to address the issue based on the specific challenges of each Local Government owing salaries.

The governor therefore directed each Local Government chairman in need of assistance to approach the State Commissioner for Finance for help.

He said the priority given to the payment of SUBEB teachers was in consonance with the provisions of the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC), which put payment of basic level teachers on a first line charge.

The governor noted that the preference to teachers was to secure the future of the students and pupils through stable academic calendar.

Earlier, the Deputy President of NULGE, Mr Oloruntade Ibikunle, expressed concern on the distribution pattern of Local Government allocation, which he said gave priority to basic teachers above council workers. (NAN)