Kwara govt suspends rams distribution
The Kwara State government yesterday said it suspended the distribution of free rams during Eid-el-Kabir to Muslims in the state due to economic downturn.
Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communications, Dr. Muideen Akorede,said, “the government is cutting expenses in view of the economy situation of the country, and suspension of rams distribution during this period is part of it”.
Our correspondent reports that the usual venues for rams distribution were deserted yesterday.
Deputy Chief lmam of llorin, Alhaji Abdullahi AbdulHameed, said the state government has not offended anyone by suspending the gesture.
“Beneficiaries of the fee rams should not see government action this year as punitive, but should work hard to always buy with their sweat”, he said.
Meanwhile, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has directed the state Ministry of Finance to immediately source loans to pay salaries and pension arrears of workers in the 16 local government councils.
The directive was contained in a statement signed by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Dr Muideen Akorede.
The statement also directed the Ministry of Finance to pay the September salary of state workers, pending the release of federal allocation next week.
The governor in the statement maintained that the state is yet to receive the N5 billion bailout loan from the federal government.
Ahmed said the gesture was necessary to end hardship experienced by workers and pensioners.
He also directed revenue generating departments, agencies and tertiary institutions in the state to pay salary arrears of their staff with internally generated funds.
The statement stressed the need to identify sustainable methods of generating revenue as state and local governments cannot continue to rely on loans to pay workers salaries.