* As 158 beggars repatriated to their states

By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin

The Kwara State Government has stated that it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the non-payment of 21 years salaries and emoluments of Jebba monarch in Moro local government area of the state, Oba Abdulkadir Alabi Adebara.

It would be recalled that successive governments in the state have since 2003 refused to pay the salaries of the 103-year-old Third Class monarch despite the State High Court judgment directing the state government to pay the monarch.

The State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Abubakar Bata, made the disclosure in Ilorin on Monday at an inter-ministerial briefing marking the one year in office of 2nd term of Governor AbdulRahaman AbdulRazaq, adding that the issue was a long standing one.

He said: “The issue of payment of salaried of Oba of Jebba is a long standing problem which this administration inherited. Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq is much aware of the problem. This ministry is also aware.

“A lot of report has been written to us and I want to assure that the Governor has directed appropriate government agencies to investigate the issue to know the problem so that a lasting solution to the issue is found. By the grace of God we are on top of it and we will find a lasting solution to it.”

Also, the Commissioner for Social Development, Mrs Afolashade Opeyemi Kemi disclosed that
government has raided and taken away from the capital city of Ilorin some beggars believed to be arms depot for criminals, adding that no fewer than 158 of such beggars had been mopped up in the state in the last one year.

She added that most of the beggars raided were found with dangerous arms like: guns, daggers, charms and other dangerous weapons, wondering “what could beggars be doing with charms and guns?”

She added: “Our discovery is a confirmation that criminals keep their guns and other weapons with them.”

The state government also claimed to have treated and repatriated five mentally challenged residents within the year.

According to her, the raided beggars mostly from Bauchi, Kano and other northern states have constituted social menace in the state capital and its environs.

She said: “We have evacuated 158 young beggars from the streets, 88 were raided the first time while another 70 were later added. They have since been repatriated to their states.”

She said the state government’s delegation had on several occasions met with leadership of the impaired on the need to rid the state of menaces, “the truth is that they are just too stubborn,” she lamented.

Kemi also hinted that five lunatics threatening the peace of the metropolis have been treated by the state government at the psychiatric home in Olorunda area of the state, adding that the mentally challenged people have been discharged after due certification of mental stability.

“They have been sent back to Akwa-Ibom and Cross River States where they came from,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner also stated that her ministry was able to register 1,612 marriages in the last one year.