ABUJA, Federal Republic of Nigeria. With the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting tomorrow, state governors may be asking for more bailout funds from the Federal Government to further cushion the effects of financial strains that have left most of them defaulting in maturing obligations, the most glaring of which is payment of workers’ salaries spanning several months.
Until the NEC meeting of last month, no fewer than 18 states were crippling with piled up salary areas of between three and eight months when the Federal Government approved bail out of about $2 billion.
Ahead of tomorrow’s NEC meeting for the month of July, Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and governor of Zamfara State, Abdul-Aziz Yari, told newsmen on Tuesday that his colleagues want money and would be insisting on additional bailout funds from the Federal Government to enable them meet their obligations.
At its last meeting, the NEC had approved that $2 billion be shared among the federal, state and local government councils in the country, being remittances from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG).
Yari, who visited the Presidential Villa, ahead of the NEC meeting to confer with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on the request of the forum, told newsmen: “We discussed the issue of the special intervention funds.
“In our last meeting with the President (Muhammadu Buhari), we agreed in the National Economic Council (NEC) that there will be a special intervention from the federal for the states that cannot be able to foot their salary arrears to their workers
“So, I followed up with the chairman of the NEC (the Vice President) to know how far they have gone with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and also the (portion) of the money that is going to be shared to the three tiers of government.
“Both the states and Federal Governments were affected by the unpaid salaries. So this issue of unpaid salaries is not only for the states, even the Federal Government is suffering the same thing.
“Therefore, we followed up to know how far they have gone with the CBN Governor and now we have gotten the brief, but the CBN Governor is out in Washington (DC) and immediately he comes back, we are going to take up the matter to see the end of the issue of unpaid salaries to the workers,” Yari added.
He also commented on the spate of terrorist bombings in the north-east region of the country, pointing out that government efforts at dislodging the Boko Haram insurgents were yielding fruits.
“What we are now suffering is a kind of guerrilla wa, checking the bombs, dislodging the suicide bombers and what have you. But to see a group of 100, 200 as Boko Haram members to confront out military, they cannot be found (any more).
The governor also spoke on lead poisoning due to illegal mining now rampant in his state (Zamfara), explaining that it was aggravated by unemployment, assuring however that the government had organised the miners in smaller groups to educate them on mining techniques, thereby avoiding a recurrence of the disaster.
“We have been working tirelessly with foreign supporters and lead poisoning has come to an end,” he declared.
Credit: Daily Independent (Nigeria)
