Chairmen of the 20 Local Government Areas in Ogun State have been implored to intensify efforts at increasing Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) in their respective council areas, to ameliorate any shortfall that might arise from the Federal Allocation.

Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ganiyu Hamzat said this at the September 2022 edition of the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) meeting, at the Conference Hall, Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

Hon. Hamzat stated that the 20 Local Governments had received a sum of N3,609,082,238.90 for September 2022, which include, shares of statutory allocation, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Exchange Gain from the Federal Allocation for the month.

The Commissioner noted that any shortfall in the allocation would not affect the statutory payments of the councils, as the government was committed to providing more democratic dividends at the grassroots.

Contributing, his counterpart in Finance and Chief Economic Adviser, Mr. Dapo Okubadejo, while presenting the financial breakdown of the allocation, affirmed that the 20 Local Government Areas received N3,609,082,238.90.

Okubadejo, represented by the Accountant-General/Permanent Secretary, State Treasury, Mr. Babatunde Aregbesola, said a total of N693,357,333.45 would be required to meet up for the full payments of first-line charges, including Primary School Teachers’ Salary, Local Government Staffs’ Salary, Pensions, Traditional Councils and other charges, which amounted to  N4,302,439,574.36.

         The Commissioner noted that in August 2022, the Local Governments’ allocation was N4,685,649,984.81, which he said, was enough to cater for the first-line charges of N4,302,439,574.81, adding that in the month under review, there was a shortage of over N1billion, assuring the State Government would augment the allocation.  

In his remarks, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Kolawole Fagbohun, said the council Chairmen should strengthen their respective Legislative Chambers, stating that improvement in the Local Government could be better achieved through effective legislation when enabling laws were made to guide their activities.