Ogun State governor, Ibikunle Amosun, yesterday, dismissed insinuations that state governors have been mismanaging funds released to them by the federal government.
There had been public criticism that most states, 27 of them, have not been able to pay salaries because of mismanagement of funds by the governors.
Amosun, who spoke during a meeting with members of the Organised Private Sector at Government House, Abeokuta, said the responsibilities of state governments have grown beyond current resource allocation.
He said the “era of free money” from Abuja” has stopped and that the development has turned governors into “endangered species” among their people.
The governor called on stakeholders not to be complacent about the economic situation of the country but work harder and diversify into agriculture and other non-oil sectors.
He said: “Governors are now endangered species because people believe that they collected this money and they cannot pay salaries because they have it.
Everybody was so complacent. People would just say, ‘no problem. Allocation is coming from Abuja.’ And nobody wanted to think outside the box. And when the money stopped, because we didn’t prepare for it, then there was a crisis.
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