BY DAUD  OLATUNJI

ABEOKUTA— GOVERNOR Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State,, yesterday, raised alarm that many states have not been able to pay salaries because of the failure of the Federal Government to release allocations to them.

The governor decried the continuous delay in the release of the statutory allocation to the states, warning that if the trend continued, it could slow down government activities and cause untold hardship to Nigerians.

Inaugurating the men’s wing of the Mission To Rebuild Ogun State, MITROS, at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, the governor lamented that the development had been on for a couple of months where allocations meant for states and local governments were not fully released to them.

The governor said, “the situation became critical in August.

“As I speak, we are yet to collect anything from Abuja. Salaries are currently not being paid in several states in the country due to this development because many states rely on federal allocation to pay their workers.

“You will agree with me that this is causing untold hardship for Nigerians. I must attribute our survival to the cooperation of the good people of Ogun State who paid their taxes promptly.

“We are one of the few states that have paid the August salary of the workers. I want to thank everyone of you that has been paying his taxes and levies.

“We are very appreciative of your effort and I will enjoin other individuals and companies that are not yet paying to join this patriotic duty.”