The Special Adviser in charge of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Kogi State, Engr. Abubakar Ohere has said that the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit, (NFIU) policy does not give additional money to the account of the Local Government in the state as against claims in some quarters.
The special Adviser, who was apparently reacting to protests by local government workers in some council areas of the state demanding for full salary payment to staff of the twenty one local government areas in Kogi State, said those doing so were ignorant of the realities on ground.
He noted that since the NFIU does not know the staff strength of each local government areas in the states, there was no how the agency could have directed 100 per cent payment to all staff of the councils.
Ohere, who, however, described the protests as politically-motivated, assured that the Kogi State government would make the welfare of workers in the state civil service particularly workers in the Local Government areas of the state a priority.
The Special Adviser further cautioned the staffers against pushing for full payment, which he said wasn’t feasible in the face of dwindling allocations from the federation account because of it’s negative consequences.
“If the workers in the local government areas insist on 100 per cent payment, where there is no money to do so, then, government would have no option than to embark on retrenchment. “This is what government has been trying to avoid,” Ohere said.
Recall that staff of some Local Government areas in Kogi State have insisted on 100 per cent payment of their salaries, based on the financial autonomy conferred on the councils by the NFIU recently leading to protest in council areas across the state.
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