A former Secretary of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in Kaduna State, Alhaji Kabiru Jarimi, has rejected ex-Governor Nasir El-Rufai’s claim of non-interference in local government funds.
Jarimi, who also served as Chairman of Kaduna South Local Government, described the former governor’s statement as misleading. According to him, the state government frequently deducted local government allocations without approval, making it difficult for councils to function effectively.
Frequent Deductions Left LGAs Struggling
The former council chairman revealed that El-Rufai’s administration introduced several policies that resulted in fund deductions. For instance, the creation of the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority, Zaria Metropolitan Authority, and Kafanchan Municipal Authority allowed the state government to divert local government resources.
“As part of this system, salaries were split 60-40 between these authorities and LGAs. Additionally, in Kaduna South, we had to remit sanitation funds to the Kaduna Capital Territory Authority (KCTA) every month,” he stated.
Beyond this, Jarimi noted that Southern Kaduna LGAs suffered the most. In many cases, councils received incomplete allocations, making it difficult to cover basic expenses after paying salaries. Consequently, some local governments struggled to function properly.
Unexplained Deductions for Security and Riot Damage
Jarimi further criticized deductions for security and riot damage, emphasizing that no LGA saw any benefits from these funds. Despite continuous contributions, the state government failed to provide any transparency regarding how the money was used.
“We contributed to a security fund, yet no chairman can explain how it was spent. Similarly, the riot damage fund did not provide support to any local government. Therefore, I challenge El-Rufai to account for these funds,” he said.
Governor Uba Sani’s Reforms Bring Relief
However, Jarimi commended Governor Uba Sani for reversing many of El-Rufai’s policies. He specifically praised the scrapping of the metropolitan authorities and the removal of unnecessary deductions.
Moreover, he applauded the new administration for allocating a percentage of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to local governments. He described the move as a significant step toward financial autonomy at the grassroots level.
