…Advocates IPPIS for states

From: Okwe Obi, Abuja

The Advanced People’s Democratic Alliance (APDA) has cautioned the Federal Government against the release of the last tranche of the Paris Club funds to state governments.

In a statement released and signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Tosin Adeyanju, on Wednesday, it said that the continuous assistance by the Federal Government to states makes them lazy and wasteful.

This was even as the Federal Government released funds to more than 10 states recently to assist the payment of outstanding debts.

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The party, however, insisted that before any money was released, the state governments should account for the last one that was handed over to them.

The release read: “It is unfortunate and unacceptable that despite huge and timely release of these funds no state has been adjudged to have utilised the funds for its primary purpose.

“To this end, APDA enjoins the Federal Government not to accede to any request for further release of funds until a comprehensive and extensive audit is carried out to determine the true state of affairs in the States especially in the face of the claims and counter claims of the state governments and labour unions.

“APDA is equally of the stance that all releases as regards the payment of workers salaries should be done through the IPPIS in states which is in use at the federal level and has recorded astounding success in the timely payment of salaries and identification of ghost workers,” the statement added.