Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba state, has raised alarm over corruption in local governments, stressing that a mechanism must be put in place to check anything that capable of undermining the third tier of government.
The governor disclosed this when leadership of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) led by the President, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, paid him a courtesy visit in office during the North-east zonal rally in Jalingo, recently.
Ishaku, who expressed support for the freedom of local governments, stated: “I tell you, that there is a problem with the local governments. What I discovered is that If you think there is problem with the state governments, local governments are worse in all ramifications.
“For instance, regarding salaries, every month before I pay salaries in the Local government, I have to argue and the reason is because there are huge leakages, ghost workers.
“Since I assumed office, I have never seen anyone from the local governments retire, die, or is replaced. I only see and increasing number of people on the payroll and to fight this ugly situation is a challenging task for me. I am going through the third round of verification as I speak with you.”
The governor said that despite the challenges, his administration prioritises payment of workers’ salaries which has led to peaceful coexistence in the state.
“I want to appreciate you for coming and to also assure you that we are on the same page with NULGE because we have been doing the needful. I want to also appreciate you for commending our election which we concluded peacefully in all the local governments accept one, where hoodlums decided to take over the process and to avoid casualties we decided to cancel the election.
“We have been doing our best to ensure that progress and development is brought to the local governments because we are paying salaries as at when due.”
Earlier, NULGE president, Comrade Ibrahim Khaleel, blamed ills in LGs on inability of governors to allow democratic process in the third tier of government, citing the recent outbreak of meningitis in Zamfara state, he said the situation could have been arrested if the local people were allowed to choose who to represents them.
