President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday
lamented that despite the various interventions by the Federal
Government, there were still complaints and agitations by workers over
unpaid salaries and allowances by state governments.....
He wondered how the unpaid workers had been managing to meet their needs.
Buhari made his position known while
addressing a delegation of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, led by the
forum’s chairman, Abdulaziz Yari, when they visited him in the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Yari had led Governor Emmanuel Udom of
Akwa Ibom State, representing the South-South; Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi
State, representing the North-West; Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State,
representing the North-Central; Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State, Dr.
Eric Igwe, representing the South-East; Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi
State, representing the North-East; and Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State,
representing the South-West, to a meeting with the President.
During the meeting the governors,
through Yari, requested that the President ensure the release of the 50
per cent of the Paris Club loan refund so that the funds could be built
into the 2018 budgets of the state governments.
The various interventions the current
administration had extended to states included bailouts, Paris Club loan
refund and budget support.
Some governors were alleged to have diverted part of the bailouts.
The President told the governors that the plight of workers in the states needed urgent attention as many could barely survive.
“How can anyone go to bed and sleep soundly when workers have not been paid their salaries for months.
“I actually wonder how the workers feed their families, pay their rents and even pay school fees of their children,” he said.
Buhari told the governors that two out
of the three-pronged focus of the ruling All Progressives Congress to
secure the country and fight corruption had received some commendable
reviews by the people, noting that the challenge in payment of salaries
in states had taken a toll on the people.
“God has been merciful in hearing the
prayers of his servants; so, the rainy season has been good. You can ask
the Kebbi State governor on this, and our enormous food importation
bill has gone down,” he said.
Buhari said the Federal Government and
governors would need to work together to ameliorate the situation of
workers across the country.
The President said he had instructed all
government agencies to comply with the Treasury Single Account in order
to ensure more transparency and prudence in accounting for the revenues
of the government and the sharing of entitlements with states.
The statement quoted Yari as saying the
various interventions by the Federal Government, which include the
bailouts, were judiciously utilised by the states.
He stressed that the governors inherited backlog of unpaid salaries and huge debt portfolios on assumption of office.
“We are concerned with the situation in our states, and we are trying our best to manage the resources,” he said.
Yari noted that the bailouts, and part
of the fallout from the London-Paris Club refund that had been received
by the states, were properly expended to alleviate the plight of
workers, but more had to be done.
The NGF chairman commended the efforts
of the President in improving the economy, assuring him that the states
would continue working with the Federal Government to improve the
livelihood of workers and all Nigerians.
Speaking to State House correspondents
at the end of the meeting which lasted about two hours, Yari said the
governors were in the Villa to thank the President for the previous
bailouts as well as the Paris Club refund, which he said has helped them
in meeting the obligations of their states.
He said, “We are here on behalf of the
36 state governors and this is a result of the collective decision to
see the President after the National Economic Council meeting last
month.
“Our mission here is simple. We are here
to thank Mr. President for his concern about the state of the economy
and for giving us several supports, ranging from bailout, restructuring
our debts, Paris Club exit payment.
“We also told him that we think that it
was because of his decision to grant us bailouts and pay the refund of
the Paris Club loan that many Nigerians are criticising him; this is the
reason why we got out of recession.”
The NGF chairman added, “We thank the
President for that and at the same time, as a father, we said to him Mr.
President, you remember that in 2016, we presented to you the numbers
of Paris Club loan exit funds which we agreed, and you directed (that)
we be paid 50 per cent and the remaining 50 per cent, upon
reconciliation.
“Reconciliation has been on since 2016.
We are hoping that both the Debt Management Office, Ministry of Finance,
Attorney General of the Federation, and our consultants are concluding
this reconciliation by November.
“So, we want to crave your indulgence so
that we can factor the numbers into our 2018 budget, so that we can use
it for projects and other recurrent spending according to the
specification given by our respective Houses of Assembly; and that’s why
we are here.
“Mr. President was prompt being that he
has a representative in the National Economic Council; that is the
Vice-President, and the Minister of Finance is away. We are going to
work on the numbers when he (Buhari) returns from his trip. We are going
to follow up this meeting with him so that we can conclude on what is
going to be done next.”
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