The Niger State Government has complied with the directives of the National Financial Intelligent Unit on direct allocation to local government areas in the state by augmenting the payments of salaries with N600 million.
While briefing journalists, the state government through the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Akilu Musa Kuta, on Wednesday said local government workers in the state are not owed their salaries.
It should be recalled that the National Union of Local Government Employee in Niger State had raised the alarm that following the implementation of the NFIU directive on direct allocation to local governments, no fewer than 13 out of the 25 local governments in the state cannot pay their staff salaries.
According to Kuta: “The resources that come to Niger State is dwindling and obviously there are instances that we may not have been able to pay, but we still have our ways of augmenting if such happens.
“We don’t have issues with the payment of salaries as it affects local government area workers.
“Since the inception of this administration, I don’t think we have defaulted.
“We have a very few local government areas that we augment for, especially Chanchaga, Bida, Suleja, Kontagora, Mokwa, Paikoro, Shiroro, Lavun, Lapai, Agaie, Paikoro, Rijau, and Tafa.
“It is not that this cannot be surmounted.
“Sometimes we have high and or low inflow of allocation.
“But on the average, we augment for these Local Government Areas within the range of between N500 million and N600 million monthly.
“And we do take overdraft to overcome these obstacles.”
Few weeks ago, the Chairman of NULGE in the state, Alhaji Abdulkareem Lafene, had said “although, the direct allocation policy is already being implemented and has achieved close to 90 per cent success in the state”.
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