Ogun Govt Shops For N4.3bn To Pay Primary School Teachers, Others ...As 20 Local Govts Get N3.9bn Allocation For January

Ogun State Government has revealed that outstanding huge sum of

N4,301,575,884.79 would be needed to pay the first-line charges, which include: Primary School Teachers’ Salaries, Local Government Staff Salary, Pensions to retirees, even as the 20 Local Governments in the state received a statutory monthly allocation of N3,975,630,265.17 for the month of January, 2023 from the Federation Account

 

The Chief Economic Adviser to the Governor and  Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo who disclosed this during the February 2023 edition of the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) meeting at Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, also listed others affected to includeTraditional Councils, other Payment of Pay As You Earn (PAYE)  Arrears, Statutory Payment to Local Government Service Commission

Okubadejo who was represented by the Permanent Secretary and Accountant-General of the State Treasury, Mr. Babatunde Aregbesola

 also explained that the needed short fall would also be used to  pay for release to Local Government and other charges, adding that it excluded PAYE tax and five percent Bond on Pension amounting to a total sum of N311,754,256.45, which are yet to be effected, while the sum of N14,191,363.17 was recorded as a gross deficit for the month.

According to him, sources of allocated  revenue  are from Statutory Revenue, Value Added Taxes (VAT), Exchange Gain, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and Augmentation from the Federal Government

However, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy, Kolawole Fagbohun  who allayed the fear that might ensue from the shortfall recorded in the allocation, explained that the deficit recorded would be funded from the savings made from previous surpluses.

Also speaking the State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ganiyu Hamzat appealed  to chairmen, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in the State to counsel youths in their various communities to desist from any acts of violence that could mar the forthcoming elections.

The Commissioner said the destruction in Sagamu, which affected not only banks but the Council Secretariat and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) office, could not have been a result of the cash crunch occasioned by the change in currency, but of other ulterior motives.

Hamzat enjoined the Council’s Executive Chairmen to speak to youths in their various councils to steer clear of any act of violence that could disturb the peace of the State, noting that no investor would want to invest in an atmosphere of violence and rancor.