Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has said the Supreme Court judgement which granted financial autonomy to local governments in the country would not impact his administration in anyway as he has not interfered with funds allocated to the 31 local governments since he assumed office.
Eno who made the remarks while fielding questions with Government House Press Corps at Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, upon his return to the state from an official engagement, described the supreme court judgement as a welcome development and and relief to state governments.
He, however expressed concerns over the effective implementation of financial Autonomy by the leaders at the third tier of government.
He particularly worried about how the local governments, under the new arrangement would be able to handle responsibilities such as the prompt payment of salaries and other emoluments of workers under their employ.
His words: “The Supreme Court has made pronouncements. That’s the final court of the land, but for us in Akwa Ibom, honestly I don’t see us having any issues. For me, this is a welcome development because I know how much we, as a state support the local governments.
“It is a relief to state governments. Since I assumed office, I’ve not touched any funds allocated to the local governments. The only challenge I envisage now, which we have to sit down and find a way around is how the local government workers would be paid promptly?
“How will primary school teachers be paid promptly? How do we clear the backlog that we have? I pray that we find a way around this.
The Governor reaffirmed that his administration’s ARISE Agenda places a premium on rural development, stressing that so far his administration has channeled volumes of funds into offsetting arrears of gratuities, pensions, salaries and other entitlements to local government workers.
“Our ARISE Agenda is also centered around developing the local government areas, so with this judgement, I feel relieved but my concern is how they would bear the brunt of the autonomy.”, Governor Eno asserted.
