The Kwara State governor, Alhaji AbdulFatah Ahmed, yesterday denied that any discord exists between him and his political mentor, Senator Bukola Saraki.

He also clarifed the delay in the payment of salaries of local government workers in the state, blaming it on the delayed meetings of the revenue allocation committee at the federal level.

Ahmed spoke with newsmen shortly after his return to Ilorin, the state capital from Saudi Arabia, where he had gone to perform the lesser Hajj (Umrah).

The governor also blamed communication gap between the government and some stakeholders for the vexed issued of the state's urbanisation law, disclosing that the contentious issues in the land policy had been amicably resolved by the stakeholders.

On his rumoured rift with the immediate past governor of the state, Senator Saraki, Ahmed described it as a political gimmick by the opposition, which he said was jittery over the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) growing influence in the state.

According to him, "the relationship between me and our political leader is very cordial. We have a very robust relationship that will continue to blossom. We have the same vision and mission of moving Kwara ahead. He has been a strong stabilisation factor for me."

Absolving the state government from any blame in the delay in the payment of local government workers salaries, Ahmed explained that "there has been drop in the allocation to the state and local governments since March. Shortfalls were recorded in May, June, July and August .

He advised the local government administrations to control their expenditure and strategise on how to improve on their internally generated revenue (IGR) to enable them meet their financial obligations.

He hinted that the urbanisation law would be sent back to the state House of Assembly for necessary amendment and appeal to the people of the state to always channel their concerns about any government policy through the appropriate channels for necessary action and as well employ dialogue in resolving such concerns.