Nasarawa Councils Get N1bn Each For Road Projects

Each of the 13 local government areas in Nasarawa State is constructing one kilometre of road following approval by the state government.

To this end, the sum of N1 billion was earmarked for each of the councils to accelerate the process.

This was disclosed by the commissioner for Local Government, Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Aminu Muazu-Maifata, during a ministerial briefing organised by Dr Ibrahim Tanko, Commissioner for Information, Culture, and Tourism, in Lafia.

The commissioner said 30 percent of the amount has already been released to the chairmen, and work on the road projects has since commenced at respective councils.

He said another batch of funds will soon be released to ensure that the project is not stalled.

He explained that following the autonomy earlier granted to the LGAs by the Governor Abdullahi Sule-led administration a structure was set up to coordinate and ensure proper utilisation of funds at the third tier in the state.

He noted that a meeting was initiated to review the demands of each LGA in relation to their monthly allocations and other revenue, and agree on releases to address those demands.

“It is in our meeting with them that we agreed to construct one kilometre road in each area council and N13 billion was approved for the projects.

“We are doing this in addition to many other projects the Local Government Chairmen are executing in different sectors, either completed or currently ongoing, to complement the efforts of the governor without borrowing.

“Copying from the governor who believed in saving for rainy days, we have saved over N4 billion for the 13 LGAs,” he stated.

The commissioner averred that the councils have been paying salaries, while also implementing promotions of civil servants up to date.

He disclosed that the state government has been releasing N80 million monthly to the State Pension Bureau for the payment of gratuity of retirees at the 13 LGAs.

“We are also paying them a monthly pension of 100 per cent to make their lives worthwhile at the other phase to enable them to enjoy their retirements from active and meritorious service to the state,” he said.