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LOCAL GOVERNMENTS LIVING UP TO EXPECTATIONS IN ONDO – TAKURO
“… Priority Given To Capital Projects, Gratuities, Security, etc”
Ondo State Government has emphasised its determination to ensure that the third tier of government in the country would impart positively on the lives of the residents.
This is as funds are being mobilised from the various allocations acruing to the local governments are being channelled to provision of basic amenities and welfare of the people at the grassroots.
Speaking with newsmen in Akure the state capital, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Amidu Takuro said the funds accruing to the 18 local governments from the Federation Account are disbursed appropriately.
This he said has led to the level of development being witnessed at the grassroots levels across the state.
Takuro, explained that the funds are disbursed under the Joint Allocation Account Committee (JAAC) which comprises Chairmen of Local Governments, traditional rulers, officials of the state government and labour leaders.
The Commissioner stressed that salary of primary school teachers, health workers at the Primary Health Centres (PHC), gratuities of retired workers, allocation for security personnel and workers of loans and pension boards are deducted before the rest are shared among the 18 local government areas of the state.
Takuro said after the deduction of statutory expenses, funds are saved for capital projects while a percentage of the funds would be channeled to payment of pensioners’ entitlements.
He stated that local governments have been alive to their responsibilities, saying they have built offices, market stalls, and rural roads.
“They
have employed extension workers and given seedlings to farmers.
The local government chairmen have installed solar lights in their communities”.
According to him, the local governments have saved money for the development of their respective local government areas and the Governor has given a directive that under his leadership, he wants local governments to be able to boast of construction of roads, not only feeder roads but also to ensure the government provides leadership to achieve that.
“The interest of Mr Governor is to provide good leadership and the state government has mapped out plans to bring in experts that will train local government chairmen and senior officials on revenue generation in their respective areas”.
“Mr Governor is ready to key into the vision of Mr President to ensure that there is grassroots development because without this, even the urban centers will suffer for it. The rural areas are the ones that provide food for us. So, if we make them comfortable, there will not be rural to urban migration.”
Speaking on pensions to retired workers at the grassroots, Takuro said 80 percent of the people who visited him were pensioners, seeking help. He said that some negotiated a percentage with him to get their gratuities.
His words “I felt sorry for them and I said we must do something to address their plights and that they don’t need to know me before they receive their gratuities. On gratuities alone, we have spent ₦10 to 12 billion because these people have provided their services meritoriously to the people of Ondo State”.
“For 10 to15 years, these people have not been paid and Mr Governor then called us to look at it and save money for the purpose of paying the retirees. And if we fail to come together at the JAAC meeting, it would be difficult for us to deduct money for that purpose. If we use this money for capital projects, they will applaud us, but these are people who must receive their entitlements.”
The Commissioner said the local governments have been able to save about #15 billion that would be deployed for capital projects in the council areas.
He said the local governments would be able to grade rural roads and take care of the aged in their communities.
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