The Kwara State governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has pledged to assist the Local Government Councils (LG), State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and state-owned tertiary institutions clear their salary and pension arrears soon.
The governor made this known while meeting with councillors from across the 16 local government areas of the state at the government house in Ilorin on Wednesday.
He disclosed that the state government is working on financial interventions within and outside the state which will be channeled towards helping the local governments, SUBEB and state-owned tertiary institutions clear their salary and pension arrears.
Governor Ahmed noted that the reason for the arrears was due to the drop in allocation from the Federal Government. He, however, added that he is pleased that the allocation in recent times is going up gradually which is helping the local governments pay current salaries and part of gratuity arrears.
Ahmed expressed optimism that before the end of the year, the arrears will be cleared in the interest of the welfare of workers and pensioners.
He commended the councillors and indeed workers in the State for their maturity and understanding and expressed optimism that the problems of salary and pension arrears will soon be a thing of the past as government remains committed to the welfare of all citizens.
Furthermore, he said salary and pension arrears at the State level are up to date because of the prudent management of funds as well as the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) reforms which have made more funds available to the state government. He added that Kwara is among the few states in the country that is currently meeting its salary and pension obligations.
