Jethro Ibileke/Benin
The Edo State Government has disclosed that only seven local government councils in the State are financially capable to pay the monthly salaries of their staff without relying on allocation from the federation account.
The State Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs, Mr. Jimoh Ijegba, gave the hint during the ongoing ministerial briefing at the State House of Assembly.
He listed the seven local government councils to include Owan East, Owan West, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Esan Central, Esan South-East, Ovia North-East and Ovia South-West.
According to the Commissioner, the current local government chairmen in the State were have not defaulted in the payment of monthly salary to workers since assumption of office in March this year, added that they have savings that enable them to meet up their monthly financial obligations to workers in their various Councils.
Ijegbai disclosed that the State Government has put in place, mechanism to ensure that it has full knowledge of what is happening in the 18 local government councils on a monthly basis.
He said that the State Government was making efforts to ensure that Councils that still have outstanding salary arrears get out of the woods and continue to meet their monthly financial obligations to their staff as at when due, adding that the Council Executives will never go back to the old ways of not paying salaries.
He explained that the State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, had in the month of June, approved the sum of N1.5 billion for the payment of pensioners in the State, assuring that cautious efforts are in top gears to ensure that the State Government pays arrears owing pensioners by December this year.
The Commissioner also disclosed that committee has been constituted to look into cases of embezzlement of funds by staff in the various unions in local government Councils.
He also assured that plans were underway to encourage the leadership of the various councils to establish farms, to provide jobs adequately for youths in the state.