The Ogun State Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) has disbursed N5.233 billion among the 20 Local Government Areas in the state.

The disbursement was made known during the August 2023 of the JAAC meeting held at the Conference Hall, Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.

Speaking at the meeting, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Dr Rotimiolu Akinlesi, said the purpose of the gathering was to foster accountability, transparency, and integrity, noting that the chairmen of the local governments were there to represent and seek the interest of the people.

Akinlesi called on the chairmen to carry out more developmental projects in their various council areas, commending them for the feats achieved in the last two years, despite various challenges facing the nation.

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In his presentation, the Permanent Secretary and Accountant-General of the State Treasury, Babatunde Aregbesola, said  N5,233,379,834.30 from Statutory Revenue, Value Added Tax (VAT), and Exchange Difference and Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) accrued to the 20 LGAs in Ogun State in August 2023.

He said the money would be used to pay the first-line charges, which include, primary school teachers’ salary, local government staff salaries, and allowances of the traditional councils, as well as pensions, among others.

In their remarks, representatives of the Ijebu Traditional Council, the Obiri of Ayepe, Oba Adebisi Okubanjo, and the Chairman of the Local Government Pensioners’ Association of Nigeria, Pastor Benedict Ademoye, applauded the state government for the consistency of the meeting, which had aided them in giving appropriate facts and figures as related to local government allocations in the state.

The Star