Kwara State Government on Sunday said it has put measures in place to ensure quick payment of severance allowance of the ex-councillors in the state with effect from this week.

It would be recalled that the ex-councillors that served between 2007/2010 in the state last Thursday protested over non-payment of their severance allowances totalling N2.25bn.

The State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Prince Tunji Moronfoye, who disclosed this exclusively to National Pilot in a telephone interview in Ilorin, noted that the allowance is paid in batches.

Moronfoye said after the protest, the state Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, had a fruitful discussion with the leadership of the affected former councillors and pledged to look into the issue and address the problem as soon as possible.

While revealing that the state government had begun process of clearing the owed severance allowances, the commissioner said the payment would be done this week.

He, however, appealed to the affected ex-councillors to be patient with the state government while the issue is being resolved.

On the alleged N50, 000 deductions from the former councillors' allowances, Moronfoye said the state government did not give such directive.

The commissioner explained that the deductions were done by the umbrella body of the former councillors.

He faulted the leadership of the association for not adequately briefing their members on the issue.

He stated that the governor through his Chief of Staff, Alhaji Toyin Sanusi, had directed that such deductions should be stopped, while those whose money were deducted would have them returned.