Ahmed denies owing Kwara civil servants

Former Governor of Kwara State, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has maintained that his administration fully paid civil servants employed by the State Civil Service Commission before his exit from office.

The clarification follows claims that the preceding administration which he led owed college of education lecturers seven months’ salary arrears.

A statement by Alhaji Wahab Oba, Press Secretary to the former governor, stressed that the tertiary institutions’ managements were responsible for workers’ salary.

The statement said “Former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed maintains that salaries of state civil servants covering those engaged by the Civil Service Commission were fully paid up to time of his exit from office.

“However, owing to fluctuations in federal allocations and blockage of state government account by the EFCC, payment of subvention to revenue-generating MDAs such as tertiary institutions was in arrears.

“Under budgeted arrangements with the affected institutions, however, the management was responsible for the salaries of staff. The institutions’ monthly subvention from the government was intended to support their administration, and not necessarily for salaries.

“Kwara State University and Kwara Polytechnic, for example, stepped up creative effort to enhance their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to meet obligations. The truth is that hundred per cent funding of tertiary institutions by the government is no longer feasible.”