Financial Autonomy: LGAs can’t pay salaries – Governor

Employees of some of the local government councils in Jigawa state will not be receiving their salaries regularly, despite the financial autonomy.

The governor of the state, Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, raised the concern over the looming danger, saying with the financial autonomy, local government councils must learn to live within the limit of their statutory allocations as his government would not continue to augment the gap in salary payment of some councils that operate in deficit.

According to him, the state government had to augment the salaries of Hadejia local government council with over N40 million before the council could pay salaries last month, saying such magnanimity would not be sustainable as all three tiers of government are independent of each other.

He added that based on this reason, he must implored the local government councils in the state to look inward on how best to sustain themselves especially, those that cannot cater for regular payment of salaries.

“The state government will continue to assist the local government but what is obvious is there is a limit to such magnanimity.

“I must advise the council chairmen to start thinking on how their respective local government councils could be financially sustainable, including considering the downsizing in some local government with bloated workforce.”