Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has declared his full support for local government autonomy, saying it will fast-track the development of the grassroots.

In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase, the Governor debunked allegations against him of not supporting autonomy of the third tier of government.

Ortom described the allegations as “a misrepresentation” of the governor’s reaction to a statement credited to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).

In the statement, Ortom said, “I have never interfered with local government funds; so, I have no reason to oppose any move to grant them full autonomy.

“Ortom took exception to such sweeping incriminating comments by NFIU. He feels that it is wrong for the NFIU to indict all governors and insist that the governors deserve an apology.

The statement buttressed that the governor were among the few governors that supported the constitutional amendment that granted autonomy to local government authorities in the country.

Adding that the Governor never touched a kobo from funds meant for the development local government areas in the state.

He further explained that the move for local government authorities to allow them manage their funds without an interference is key to democracy and accountability.

He added that the local government directly pays the salaries of their workers and the entire running of the councils.

“In a move to deepen the democratic structure in the state, the Governor allowed the people to chose their representatives at the local government level whereby conducting the L.G.A. Polls which the results reflected the mandate of the people”.