Hope dims for SUBEB, LG workers as KWSG denies responsibility

By Mumini Abdulkareem and Matthew Denis

Hope for the payment of the arrears owed State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) and local government workers in Kwara State dimed on Sunday following the state government’s position that the issue is not within its purview.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had said his administration will not take over the responsibility of offsetting salary arrears of local government employees and SUBEB staff.
His media aide, Rafiu Ajakaye while featuring on a television programme at the weekend reportedly said the payment of council workers and SUBEB teachers’ salaries remain the duty of the local government authorities, noting that the state government can’t be held responsible for that.
However, the comment has generated mixed reactions from Kwarans.
The last administration in the state came under fire by the then opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) for making similar excuse.
Expectation had been high among the affected workers that the new government will look into the issue with a view to finding a solution after the receipt of N4.8billion tax refund and increase monthly allocation to the state.
Dr Muideen Akorede, the immediate past Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to former governor, Alh. Abdulfatah Ahmed, recently said during a radio programme that his principal had planned to use the money which hit the state coffers during the twilight of the last administration to defray the arrears of the affected workers.
But Ajakaye, in a recent telephone chat with National Pilot on the issue said the money would be used to fund the 2019 budget deficit passed by the 8th Assembly.
“…The Kwara State Government has 2019 budget which was signed into law by former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed. The budget is a legal proposal which requires cash backing for implementation.
“To that extent, the tax refund is being used to fund budget deficits. It is not a windfall. It is going into funding the budget as passed by the state House of Assembly and assented to by the former governor,” Ajakaye had stated.

…NULGE calls for removal of Jnr sec schools from LGs account

Reacting to the issue last night, the Kwara State chapter of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) called on the state government to remove the Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) from the financial responsibilities of local governments account.
The Deputy National President of the union, Comrade Kunle Tade during a telephone conversation with our reporter noted that, “It is not the state government that owes us money. Our allocation comes from the local government; therefore we’re not dealing with the state government.
“We want to believe that immediately we have offset the loans we collected at the council level, it will get better to clear some of these arrears of workers,” he added.
Comrade Tade however called on the state government to take over the financial responsibility of JSS from the councils.
“We want the state government to take the burden of paying the JSS so that the local government account can breathe to clear all these arrears”.