The Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, on Saturday, denied having a meeting with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo over a bailout for local government councils in the state.

He said the bailout issue was only raised during the National Economic Council meeting. In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, the governor also denied a media report (not The PUNCH) that the state government had taken over the funding of junior secondary education in the state.

He stated that the state government had yet to take over the funding of junior secondary education from the local governments in the state.

Akorede explained that the state government was considering a staff verification exercise. According to him, the state government is also working on improving the Internally Generated Revenue of the state to resolve the salary crisis at the local government level.

He said Ahmed had directed the state Ministry of Education to work on the modalities and assess the cost implications for the state government to take over the funding of junior secondary education. He added that the ministry had yet to submit its report to the governor, noting that the government's decision would be made known soon.

Akorede stated that the government's proposal to separate the funding of primary schools from that of the junior secondary schools was to reduce the financial burden on the local government councils in view of the current financial challenges.