The Kwara State Government says local government funds are administered, without its interference, by the respective executive chairpersons of the local councils through the Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) and based on parameters set by law.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the State Government dismissed as uninformed and false, claims by All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazak, that the State Government diverts local government funds.

The government also rejected the candidate’s claim that the joint project account was responsible for the low level of development and poverty at the local government level.

On the contrary, it said, the drop in federal allocation to local government councils caused salary arrears and the unfortunate hardship being experienced by local government workers and pensioners.

The statement also attributed the relative lack of development at the local government level to the same drop in allocation to councils as current inflows barely cover basic obligations, leaving no room for development projects.

The statement, signed by Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication to the State Government, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, also clarified that while the State-Local Government joint projects account accelerated infrastructure development at local levels, the scheme was stopped years ago following the sustained reductions in federal allocation on account of drop in global oil prices. The scheme, it said, could therefore not be responsible for the current challenges referred to by the candidate.

While urging the governorship candidate to refrain from misleading pronouncements about governance in the state, the state government emphasised that it has always supported local governments to meet their obligations including augmenting shortfalls in their allocation.

These interventions, it said, include loans, releasing a significant proportion of revenue inflows such as the Paris Club refunds and the monthly disbursement of ten per cent of state government’s internal revenue to the local government councils.