THE Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed has expressed optimism that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will  release the N5 billion bailout loan for the payment of salary and pension arrears at the local government level in the state.

The  Governor stated this  late-last night du8ring a meeting with  all state council officials of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and Nigerian Union of Pensioners at Government House, Ilorin on Friday, Governor Ahmed said he has received assurances from the CBN that funds will be released shortly.

Governor Ahmed expressed concern about the hardship caused to local government workers and pensioners by the arrears which he attributed to continued drop in federal allocation. He commended the workers and pensioners for their patience and pledged to continue working to ensure that the funds are released without further delaystressed that the N5 billion bailout loan, when received, will clear existing arrears at the sixteen local government councils across the state.

Alhaji Ahmed also explained that the Federal Government has restructured the state government’s N15b debt into a low-interest 20-year bond He said the expected savings will enhance the state government’s capacity to meet its salary obligations and other responsibilities.

Governor Ahmed however emphasised that the only way for the state and local government councils to avoid salary crises in the future was to grow Internally Generated Revenue as that is the only way the state can survive its current economic challenges.

He therefore called on the people of Kwara State to support the newly established Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) to meet its revenue targets so that salary arrears at the state and local government levels will become a thing of the past.