Nasarawa not indebted to WAEC, says Al Makura

NASARAWA State Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura over the weekend dismissed as untrue media reports that the state is indebted to the West Africa Examination Council, WAEC.

Speaking to The Guardian, to give clarification on the speculation that Nasarawa State is among the state indebted to the council, the senior Special Assistant to the governor on media and publicity, Ahmed Tukur, explained that the state has never entered any commitment with WAEC regarding the payment of WASCE fees for students in public schools.

Explaining further, he said the governor since assumption to office in 2011 has been paying registration fees for candidates writing the National Examination Council, NECO, examination in public schools and not for WAEC candidates.

The state government implored the public to disregard any report to the effect of Nasarawa State being among the states indebted to WAEC and also assured that Governor Al-Makura will remain steadfast in his commitment to quality education in Nasarawa State.

Tukur, who lamented the current economic downturn in the country, however maintained that Nasarawa State did not owe any debt in connection with any examination.

He said as part of the governor’s efforts to meet the education and health needs of the citizens of the state, there has been a drastic reduction in government’s expenditure.

According to him, Nasarawa State was one of the heavily indebted states upon the assumption of Governor Tanko Al-Makura in office, adding that the state is now ranked among the least indebted as a result of his administration’s prudent management of resources.

Tukur said the governor is very concerned about the welfare of citizens of the state that’s why he ensure prompt payment of monthly salaries of workers, “We are not owing our normal monthly obligations to our workers.”

He said there are major challenges facing Nasarawa and indeed all states in the country but not to the extent of not paying our workers because of the structures and mechanisms the governor have put in place.

Tukur, who applauded President Muhammadu Buhari on the recent approval of bailout funds to states, said. “Although the state does not owe salaries, we need the bailout because of the obligations we have to our contractors towards the completion of on-going projects and the execution of new ones.”

Commenting on the inability of local government councils to pay salaries, the Governor’s aide, absolved the state government from the predicament, noting that there was no time the governor made any illegitimate deductions from council allocations. “Recently the leadership of ALGON, in a press conference gave clarification on the matter and they categorically stated that the governor is not responsible for their predicaments.”