Abeokuta: By Sina ODUNTAN Published, Sunday, September 3, 2023
OGUN STATE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT (SSG) has cleared the ambiguity between zero revenue allocation from the Federation Account and deficit emerging from it as the government claimed it has spent N13.591 billion on the 20 local government councils in Ogun State to augment the deficits arising from their revenue allocations from the Federation Account since July 2019 to July 2023.
Mr. Tokunbo Talabi, the State Government (SSG) further made the clarification that the concept of zero allocation has not taken place, saying it would have been impossible to pay salaries and pensions of local government staffs, pensioners, teachers, health workers and Obas at the 20 local government areas.
This Clarification was made at the press conference addressed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tokunbo Talabi, and Chief Economic Adviser and Commissioner-designate, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, at the Aremo Olusegun Osoba Press Centre, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta at the weekend, insisting that the process of funding local governments in the state has been transparent, open and in line with constitutional requirement as prescribed by the law establishing the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC).
Chief Economic Adviser and Commissioner-designate, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo buttressed the point when he showed year by year the deficit experienced by the 20 local government councils in Ogun State, saying the State government led by Prince Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun State has augmented revenue of the 20 local government councils to the tune of N13.591 billion to clear the deficits in the revenue allocation from the Federation Account to the Councils.
It should be recalled that the Chairman of Ijebu East Local Government, Wale Adedayo had recently made an allegation against the Prince Dapo Abiodun, Ogun State governor in a petition he directed to the national leader of All Progressives Congress (APC) and former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, and made public, stating that illegal seizure of local council funds by Governor Abiodun has incapacitated the state's 20 local councils and brought their officials to ridicule before citizens at the council areas for non-performance.
In the petition, Adedayo, who is being detained by the Department of State Service (DSS) in its Abeokuta office since Friday raised three allegations against Governor Abiodun. “Former President Muhammadu Buhari assisted the states and Local Governments with what we call palliatives today. They called it, SURE-P. The first sent to the 20 local governments in Ogun State was N2.5 billion. The second one was N2.6 billion. The third was N2.8 billion, while the fourth shortly before Buhari left office was N2.9 billion. Not a dime of these funds was released to ANY local government in Ogun State. He alleged that the State government has failed to give the constitutionally guaranteed 10% share to the local government from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), and refusal of the Prince Abiodun-led State government to release to the local government the ecological funds to the 20 local government councils.
Given the position of the government, the Chief Economic Adviser/Commissioner-designate said the State government's intervention to the local government allocations to the 20 local governments in 2020 was N43.121 billion for First Line Charges, while N34.750 billion was received from the federation account for the 20 local government areas, leaving a deficit of N6.619 billion, which the government augmented.
Dapo Okubadejo also noted that the total allocation released for the 20 local government councils in 2021 was N38.723 billion, while payment for First Line Charges was N47.845 billion, leaving a deficit of N9.128bn.
In 2022, N48.074 billion was the total allocation for the 20 local governments from the federation account, while N54.182 billion was the actual amount needed to pay First Line Charges with a shortfall of N6.105bn, adding that almost N17.4 billion deficit has been paid for by 2023.
He, however, acknowledged that in January 2023, N7.6 billion was received as against the N7.221 billion total First Line Charges, leaving a little surplus.
The bumper allocation received in January was reversed In February when it went back to the normal trend, lower JAAC allocation and higher First Line Charges of N3.79 billion and N4.3 billion respectively. The same thing was experienced in March and April. But in May, according to Okubadejo, there was an increase of N6.348 billion to that of First Line Charges of N4.531 billion, leaving a surplus of N1.817billion.
Dapo Okubadejo, Chief Economic Adviser and Commissioner-designate said: “Now, when you look at the total carried forward as of July 2019 to July 2023, you will see that there is a deficit of N13.591 billion.
“The state government covers this deficit because it affects the salaries and pension of local government staff, primary school teachers, health workers, and traditional council members.
“Again, you recall that about two years ago, His Excellency promised that he was going to be paying N500 million every quarter to clear the backlog of gratuities from 2011, which has now been increased to N1 billion for both state and local government staff. And, paying the local government portion of the gratuities is an addition to the state government’s intervention.
“In addition to that, the governor also directed that certain quarterly allocations should be made directly to local governments for them to undertake certain developmental projects.
"When people talk about zero allocation being distributed, they should be enlightened to know that they cannot talk about allocation in isolation of the First Line Charges which is the first thing that must be paid in local government allocation.”
Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) is a statutory and legal instrument established long before the present administration of Prince Dapo Abiodun and it operates in all the remaining 35 States and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
While defending the position of the Ogun State government, Okubadejo further said JAAC meeting is held monthly for the allocation of funds from the federal government to the local government and its distribution, adding that the composition of the meeting includes Chairmen of local government councils, the association of pensioners, members of the traditional council and all other members, convening monthly at the Oba’s Complex of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, the State capital city to discuss how much comes in for local governments and how that money is distributed.
The Commissioner-designate also stated that the Joint Account Allocation Committee account is a completely separate account from the state government’s accounting process. It is managed and administered by different sets of staff that are involved in local government administration in the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, (and) the account and signatories are separated from the State government as the (State) Accountant-General and Director of Treasury are not signatories to the JAAC.
Demonstrating the transparency of the process, Okubadejo said the Local Government Service Commission prepares the vouchers of salaries and allowances of (the 20) local government staffs, SUBEB prepares that of all primary school teachers, Bureau of Local Government Pensioners prepares that of Pensioners, and the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs prepares that of traditional council members monthly.
"All the data prepared by all these bodies are sent to the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, where they are reviewed, collated, and validated. These figures are referred to as First Line Charges. The figures are taken to the JAAC meeting, and once the allocation comes from Abuja, with respect to the JAAC, they disclosed the amount at the meeting as money for Ogun State local government funding. They table all the distributions, which are the First Line Charges, and distribute on local government to local government basis,” he noted.
Answering a question on Ecological Fund, the Commissioner-designate, said the fund’s periodical as it is credited into the state and local account through JAAC. He stated that the fund has a high level of oversight as it is meant for flood control, afforestation, and clearing of drainages, among others.
In his contribution, the Ogun State Secretary to the Government (SSG), Mr. Tokunbo Talabi maintained that at no time was there any disagreement between the Chairmen of the local government councils and the state government.
He denied any diversion of statutory allocations and zero allocation, insisting that the present administration has been transparent, accountable, just and equitable in spreading developmental projects to all parts of the State with inputs from local government chairmen in the last few years.
The SSG said the government routinely sends money to the councils to execute some projects to better the lots of the people at the grassroots, stating that the state government has provided over N1.8 billion for all the 20 local government councils to do independent projects, in addition to whatever the state government has done in their respective local government areas, and funding the deficits.
“The concept of zero allocation has not taken place. Otherwise, how have we been paying the teachers? How have we been paying the healthcare workers? How have we been paying the traditional council? How have we been paying the pensioners? How have we been paying the local government staff themselves? How is the chairman getting paid all these years? And then, we have what is called the security vote for the chairman,” Talabi queried.
Talabi pointed out that Prince Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun State requested, at the beginning of his administration, from the local government chairmen and other stakeholders to present three roads that are more important to them in the order of priority, adding that the administration was proud to say it has executed projects in all local government areas.
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