The government of Nasarawa State says it has complied with the new Local Government’s financial guidelines as directed by the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Malam Bala Sani disclosed this during the state’s LG Joint Account Committee (JAC) meeting, held at the ministry’s headquarters in Lafia.
He said: “The state government, through the ministry, has fully complied with the directive in order to ensure prudence and accountability in the management of resources. The guidelines have been put into operation since June 1, and the state has set up machinery to ensure its success.”
According to him, the JAC meeting in the state still holds because money was not sent directly to LGAs’ account.
The permanent secretary said that the state also had development areas that were not recognised by the new guidelines and urged LG chairmen to share the allocation with the respective development areas.
He also urged them to ensure that statutory deductions were considered on first line charges before any other expenses were made, such as salaries for traditional rulers, percentage for pension of retirees and money for training of staff to Local Government Service Commission.
Others include salaries for primary school teachers to State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Primary Healthcare and Development Agency (PHCDA) among others.
