The Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Bello on Wednesday declared that he is finding it difficult to pay workers’ salaries due to the currently economic hardship the country is facing.


Bello made the disclosure while addressing State House correspondents shortly after a closed door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.


According to Bello, “We have laid the cards on the table; we are not hiding anything. We are very transparent as much as we can but the truth of the matter is that I cannot give what we don’t have. I wish I had; personally if I had, I would have paid (salaries) from my pocket but I can’t.”


Noting that his government as at May ending was indebted to the tune of N3bn, the governor said the state government had been borrowing from banks since January to augment whatever comes as Federal allocation.


Bello while stressing that should the trend continues till December, his state’s debt profile will have risen to N10bn, maintained that it was not healthy for the state government to continue borrowing to pay salaries.


“I think we should go back to the table. Of course, we can’t give what we don’t have.

“We are facing difficult times now, so let us sit down and see what we can do.


I really think it is unhealthy to keep on borrowing just to pay salaries. Apart from that, we are not just there to pay salaries, there are a lot of issues.


“I got a call this morning from one Girls’ Secondary School that their roof is off in six out of seven dormitories. Where will they sleep? Now if I take the whole revenue and pay salaries, how am I going to fix schools, hospitals?” the governor wondered.


The governor revealed that with N1.5bn from federation account, the state still had to borrow to pay 40,000 civil servants against over three million people that needed to be catered for.

He, however, called on people of the state to make sacrifices, saying nobody should be blamed for the sharp drop in oil price which has brought untold hardship on the state.


“I am willing to make sacrifices, all my appointees are willing to make sacrifices.


“We have shown example by cutting down our expenditure, we have cut down the expenses of the Government House from N150m a week to between N20m and N25 million a week.


“So we have cut down Government House expenditure by over 70 per cent and I mean these are all sacrifices,” he said.

http://www.newshelm.com/2016/06/niger-state-governor-i-can-no-longer.html

cc lalasticlala

40,000 Non-productive civil servant.... Nigeria civil service is a MESS!

they all getting broke .. is a bad tin

If we like let us continue deceiving ourselves..true federalism is the way out. Meanwhile 150milloin a week? Hmm

One after the other, the parasites are complaining, meanwhile bubu is still deceiving them he will crush NDA. Una never see anything yet.

Why do I have the feelings that this nigga is simply one hell of a clueless and lazy governor among his fellow band of thieves? SMH for this kind of leader.

Little by little they are complaining already. When hunger feast on them, they would realize it is good to have birth control. Some people would say northerners own Nigeria but can't carry the burden of Nigeria.

This is just the begining. U will surely sing anoda song when the chips are down.

FGN should take a cue from USA on how you run a diverse country

The parasites are crying, from North to West

MXrep:
The parasites are crying, from North to West

You were in a vegetative coma when this was going on?

http://www.punchng.com/unpaid-salaries-bayelsa-workers-turn-to-begging-for-survival/

You bigoted lots abuse and curse everything and everyone but when the favour is returned , you either go into your beloved victim mode, wail about hate or somw pwople don't want you to shine....

Tomato Ebola has shown the south can barely feed itself, so stop throwing stones from your glass house!

Nigeria has a faulty foundation and has depended on one commodity for too long, this is the result..

When the host falls ill, so does the parasite. Imagine having a weekly bill of 150 million naira at the government house?