President Muhammadu Buhari said Thursday in
Abuja that it was a matter of great concern to
him that nearly two-thirds of states of the
federation are still having difficulties with salary
payments despite the bail-out funds provided to
them by the Federal Government.
Speaking at a meeting with members of the
Nigeria Governor Forum at the Presidential Villa,
President Buhari said that he was very disturbed
by the hardship which state government workers
across the country and their families were facing
due to the non-payment of salaries.
To ameliorate the hardship being faced by
affected workers, the President said that the
Federal Government will strive to make more
funds available to the states by expediting action
on refunds due to them for the maintenance of
federal roads and other expenses incurred on
behalf of the Federal Government.
President Buhari also said that he will establish an
inter-ministerial committee to study a Fiscal
Restructuring Plan for the Federation which was
presented to him by the governors.
The President said that the committee will review
the plan to improve the finances of state
governments and make recommendations on
how proposals in the plan should be dealt with by
the Presidency, the Federal Executive Council and
the National Assembly through legislation.
President Buhari urged the governors, however,
to understand that while he was ready to do all
within his powers to help the states overcome
their current financial challenges, the Federal
Government also has funding problems of its own
to contend with.
“You all know the problems we have found
ourselves in. You have to bear with us,” he told
them.
The Chairman of the Governors Forum, Governor
Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State and the Governor
Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State, who chaired the
committee that worked on the Fiscal
Restructuring Plan, asked the Federal
Government to do more to help the states
financially.
The governors told the President that while they
had resolved to take other measures to boost
their internally-generated revenue, the
implementation of the Fiscal Restructuring Plan
will help them to deal with their funding problems
on short, medium and long-term bases.
They said that if the plan was adopted and
implemented by the Federal Government, states
of the federation will become more financially
empowered to fulfill their constitutional
responsibilities.
Garba Shehu