Enugu State governor Peter Mbah has inaugurated the state’s Joint Accounts Allocation Committee (JAAC), saying that local government funds must be made to lift the people out of poverty.
The 16-member committee has Comrade Anthony Udeh as chairman, Dr Peter Aneke as secretary, while other members include the accountant general of the state, Mr Tony Okenwa, and the chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Enugu State chapter, Hon Okechukwu Edeh.
In his speech at the event held at the Government House, Enugu, yesterday, Governor Mbah described the local government as the layer of government closest to the people and charged members to ensure that the incomes of LGAs are boasted through the State Joint Local Government Account.
He said, “Local government account for us, is a very important account and we believe we must ensure that the people who will manage and ensure the allocation, monitoring, and distribution of this account are credible people because the local government is that arm of our government that is closest to the people.
“Ours is to make sure that we lift our people out of the pit of poverty and we do not believe that there is a better-positioned arm to do that than the local government.