Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) – Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari assured Tuesday the nation that all public funds stolen by government officials would be recovered, and that the days of impunity, lack of accountability and fiscal recklessness in the management of national resources are over.
The President gave the assurance in the capital city of Abuja during his meeting with the Governors of the nation’s 36 states, who are seeking the assistance of the Federal Government to pay the salaries of their workers.
“There are financial and administrative instructions in every government parastatal and agency. But all these were thrown to the dogs in the past. Honestly, our problems are great, but we will do our best to surmount them,” the presidency quoted him as saying in a statement. “The next three months may be hard, but billions of dollars can be recovered, and we will do our best.”
Expressing surprise that the Governors had tolerated the atrocities allegedly committed with the Excess Crude Account (ECA) since 2011, President Buhari promised to tackle the issue decisively.
The President declared that the payment of national revenue into any account other than the Federation Account was an abuse of the constitution, adding that what he had heard was going on in many agencies and corporations, particularly the state-run oil firm NNPC, was clearly illegal.
He promised that a comprehensive statement on the economic and financial situation inherited by his administration would be made to the nation within the next four weeks.
On how to assist the states that are owing many months in their workers’ salaries, President Buhari said that a committee headed by the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would look at the ECA and see what can be shared immediately.
On the refund of monies spent on federal projects by state governments, President Buhari assured the Governors that the Federal Government would pay, but insisted that due process must be followed.
The President promised special assistance for the three North-Eastern states – Adamawa, Borno and Yobe – that are badly affected by the Boko Haram insurgency.
With earnings from crude oil, the mainstay of Nigeria’s economy, having fallen drastically, Nigeria’s revenues have equally taken a big hit, reducing the allocations accruing to the states from the federation account.
That, in turn, has precipitated a financial crisis in many states, manifesting in the inability of the states to pay their workers.
Workers in several states are owed over seven months in salaries, triggering widespread protests.
The affected Governors have therefore resorted to seeking the help of the Federal Government to clear the salary arrears.
The Federal Government is itself in dire financial straits, with the Chairman of President Buhari’s transition committee Ahmed Joda saying the immediate past administration left a 7 trillion Naira (US$35 billion) liability.
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