Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed, the governor of Kwara State has denied ever asking civil servants in the state to pay for their promotion.
The governor made this clarification during an interactive session with youth groups and associations from Ilorin West local government, as part of an on-going consultation with stakeholders in the State.
He said that workers were only expected to train as part of their professional development and in line with their scheme of service, stressing however that the training is optional.
Governor Ahmed explained that the workers can either be trained at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Badagry, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Staff Development Centre, Ilorin or any other recognized training center.
He therefore urged the public to ignore the figures being circulated as the government has not asked anyone to make any payments as a condition for promotion.
On the salary crisis at the local government level, the governor expressed optimism that if the rise in federal allocation is sustained, the councils will henceforth be able to pay full salaries to their workers.
Alhaji Ahmed attributed the increase in the January Federal allocation to rise in the price of crude oil at the international market.
Governor Ahmed said he had met with the newly elected LG chairmen to discuss ways of finding a sustainable solution to the lingering salary crisis. He, however, noted that one of the solutions is for the councils to boost their internal revenue to enable them not only to pay salaries, but also meet infrastructure demands of their people.
Speaking earlier on behalf of his ward, Alhaji Abdulkadir Mohammed commended the Ahmed-led administration on its efforts in the health sector noting that the renovation of the General hospitals have made healthcare affordable and accessible.
He, however, called on the State government to revamp cottage hospitals across the State to make healthcare services more accessible to residents.
Other representatives from different associations commended the State government on the various ongoing projects like the Light up Kwara (LUK) and Diamond Underpass in the State and solicited for more infrastructure to cater for the growing population in the State.
Packaged by Rahman Salami
