Nine Nasarawa LGs can’t pay salaries without borrowing – Gov Sule

As local governments celebrate the autonomy granted them,
Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has said that some of
them would find it difficult to pay salaries without borrowing.

“In my state, nine local governments, out of the 13, cannot pay
salaries with their allocations from the federation account. It
means they will have to borrow every month, to meet that
obligation,” Mr Sule said on Saturday in Awe.

The governor spoke at a ceremony to flag-off the construction of
classroom blocks, toilets and solar-powered boreholes at Mahanga
community in Awe.

The projects are being executed by the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), office in the state.

The governor blamed the inability to pay the salaries on the
huge workforce carried by the local governments, and the lack of
initiative of the leaders who have proved too lazy to generate
revenue internally.

He advised rural dwellers to be careful while deciding the type
of leaders that would manage affairs at the local governments and
specifically cautioned them against electing people with
questionable character whose sole interest is to loot.

“Local governments must begin to look inward towards generating
money to pay salaries and save, even before they get allocations
from the federation account.

“They (local governments), must be able to generate money to
complement allocations because relying on allocations alone is
archaic,” the governor added.

He warned local government chairpersons against tampering with
government funds, saying that anyone caught would face the full
wrath of the law.

Mr Sule said that he was among the first governors to support
the idea of financial autonomy for local governments, and promised
never to tamper with their funds throughout his tenure.

(NAN)