Local Governments in Nasarawa Gain Financial Autonomy as State Governor Dumps Joint Account

Nasarawa State Governor, Abdullahi Sule, has taken a step towards ensuring local government autonomy in the state by abolishing the joint account system between the state and local government areas.

The move is in line with a recent Supreme Court judgment which ordered that finances of all the 774 local governments across the country be handled independently.

Peter Ahemba, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Sule on Public Affairs, announced this development at a press briefing in Lafia on Tuesday.

According to Ahemba, the governor’s action aims to enhance full autonomy for local governments, allowing them to operate freely.

“The governor Sule administration is one of the accountable and transparent administration in the country who believes in the rule of law and has nothing to hide,” he said.

In addition to granting financial autonomy, the Nasarawa State government is also set to implement the new minimum wage of N70,000.

Giving update on it, the government official said, “You could recall that the governor wanted to implement the new wage since August with the arrears of three months.

“But the organised labour preferred the implementation of their promotions first, and the governor agreed with their request.

“The government is ready to begin a discussion on the new minimum wage now that the promotion was successfully implemented and the template was released by the Federal Government.”