Linus Oota, Lafia
Nasarawa State House of Assembly committee investigating nonpayment of June 2019 salary and unnecessary deductions from council funds , said about N60m had been realised from eight councils out of 13 local government areas in the state.
Chairman of the committee and member representing Lafia North, Ibrahim Alkali, disclosed this while briefing newsmen shortly after he held a meeting with the local government chairmen in Lafia.
He said the meeting was aimed at finding out situation reports from the chairmen regarding the screening of staff for June payment.
According to him, the chairmen of the eight local government areas that presented reports of their payments of salaries were Lafia, Toto, Karu, Kokona, Akwanga, Nassarawa Eggon,Obi and Awe.
He added that it was those eight local government areas that realised about N60m during their screening process.
He lamented the inability of Doma Local Government Area not to conduct screening at all before payment of June salary to its staff.
The committee chairman
gave Doma council ten days ultimatum to conduct screening and report to the House, just as he urged the other local government areas to complete their screening exercise and report to the committee accordingly within the time schedule.
Alkali, however, expressed dismay over the sour relationship between some local government chairmen and their overseers, noting that such was not healthy for the local government system and advised them to work in synergy for the good of all.
Recently, the state governor Abdullahi Sule, cried out that about nine local governments out of 13 councils in the state could not pay salaries due to insufficient funds despite the implementation of their autonomy in the state.