The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and the Governor of Kwara State Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq, has said that the Supreme Court verdict on local government financial autonomy is relieving to governors.
AbdulRazaq led this out at the State House in Abuja on Friday in the company of his Bauchi and Imo State counterparts Bala Mohammed and Hope Uzodimma respectively.
He added that contrary to speculations, governors have never tampered with local government funds.
The Governor said: “We welcome the ruling of the Supreme Court. Compliance is a given and our attorney generals have applied for the enrollment order which we’ll study carefully. But by and large, governors are happy with the devolution of power with respect to local government autonomy.
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“It relieves the burden on governors. Our people really don’t know how much states expend in bailing out local governments, and that’s the issue there.
“What the local governments have to do is to manage themselves, especially with the incoming minimum wage, to manage their affairs and make sure salaries are paid, traditional rulers get their five per cent and those are the main issues.
“It’s not going to affect the state we’ve never tampered with local government funds. So it’s going to continue. What the local governments have to do is to manage themselves, especially with the oncoming minimum wage, to manage their affairs and make sure salaries are paid, traditional rulers get their 5% and those are the main issues.”
