* As govt charges councils to execute more developmental projects
By Nudoiba Ojen
The Ogun State Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) has disbursed N5,233,379,834.30 among the 20 local government areas in the State.
The disbursement was outlined during the August 2023 edition of the JAAC meeting held at the Conference Hall, Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr Rotimiolu Akinlesi, in his welcome address at the meeting, said, “The purpose of the gathering is to foster accountability, transparency, and integrity”.
The PS, who said that the chairmen of the local governments were there to represent and seek the interest of the people, urged them “to carry out more developmental projects in their various council areas.
He praised the council chairmen for the feats achieved in the last two years despite various challenges facing the nation.
In his presentation, the Permanent Secretary and Accountant-General of the State Treasury, Mr Babatunde Aregbesola, outlined that N5,233,379,834.30 from Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), Exchange Difference and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) accrued to the 20 local government areas in the state for August 2023.
He said N5,143,138,652.75 would be used to pay the first-line charges, which include, primary school teachers’ salary, local government staff salaries and allowances of the traditional councils, as well as pensions, among others.
In their remarks, representatives of the Ijebu Traditional Council, the Obiri of Ayepe, Oba Adebisi Okubanjo, and the Chairman of the Local Government Pensioners’ Association of Nigeria, Pastor Benedict Ademoye, applauded the state government for the consistency of the meeting.
They said that the meeting had aided them in giving appropriate facts and figures as related to local government allocations in the State.
