Domestic indebtedness of the 36 states and the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT) as at the end of March 2019 was N3.972 trillion, the
Debt Management Office (DMO) has disclosed.
The debt profile includes the more than N600 billion bailout fund
which President Muhammadu Buhari gave to states in 2016 in the wake of
falling oil prices at the international market. The states had
complained that they were unable to pay salaries and meet operational
costs.
Although Lagos is one of the few states that never accessed the fund,
it leads the pack of heavy domestic debtors with N542.231 billion. It
is followed by three oil-rich states: Rivers, N225.592 billion; Delta,
N223.442 billion; and Akwa Ibom, N199.768 billion.
FCT has N163.518 billion, Cross River, N167.252 billion; Osun,
N147.702 billion; Bayelsa, N133.339 billion; Ekiti, N118.0113 billion;
and Kano, the most indebted northern state, N121.305 billion.
The states with the least debts include Yobe, N26.990 billion;
Anambra, N33.490 billion; Jigawa, N38.227 billion; Ebonyi, N55.597
billion; and Kebbi, N67.037 billion.
On July 27, 2015, about two months after he assumed office, Buhari
had introduced the rescue initiative with a view to reflating the
economy, especially at the state level where the basic elements of
governance were collapsing. What became of the funds, however, has
raised questions about the governors’ prudence.
A source at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) told The Guardian that
the state governors took advantage of the plan and presented “very
bogus” claims of amounts owed their workers in a bid to rake in huge
gains.
The development is generating bad blood between the governors and
trade unions in some states where workers have remained unpaid or partly
paid.
Ironically, some governors have begun setting up committees to
‘manage’ the funds which, according to the CBN, should have been
credited directly into workers’ salary accounts.
In states like Cross River, Abia and Imo, workers are challenging
their governors for attempting to divert the funds to “other purposes”
besides the settlement of salary arrears.
A CBN source said: “Some of these governors are crooks. Do you know
that they padded the salaries claims of their workers to draw money from
the bailout fund? In fact, one state, I think, Kogi, presented over N50
billion in claim. You can ask yourself, what has the state and others
like it been doing with the monthly allocations from the Federation
Account?
“It tells you that something is fishy. That is why, according to our
monitoring of the implementation of the disbursement of the fund, we
have found out that the governors that padded the amount required are
now sifting the wheat from the chaff before they can effect the payment
to the authentic workers while they keep the difference. That would also
explain the reason for the setting up of committees in these affected
states for the management of the funds.”
In addition to the direct cash bailout for salaries payment, Buhari’s
stimulus package also included the sharing of about $2.1 billion
(N413.7 billion) in fresh allocation between the states and the Federal
Government, as revenue from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG)
project.
There was also a relief programme proposed by the DMO which will help
the states restructure their commercial loans and extend the tenure to
15 years, thus reducing the burden of their debt servicing.
Investigations by The Guardian revealed that while states like
Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo and Abia applied for and received the loans issued at
a repayable interest rate of nine per cent, surprisingly none of them
reflected the funds on their websites
Don Adinuba, Commissioner for Information and Strategy, said Anambra State did not collect the funds because it did not need it.
Enugu, Ebonyi, Imo and Abia states, which received various sums, said
the money was used to settle the backlog of salaries and pensions
inherited when their governors came to power in 2015.
Records show that Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi secured the
approval of the House of Assembly to apply for the loan. The state was
granted about N4.063 billion in the first tranche that was disbursed in
2015.
Efforts to get details of what the state got in subsequent years
proved abortive as there was no record of such in its government’s
website. The non-appointment of commissioners also compounded efforts to
get official comments on whether the state received more money
afterwards and how it intends to repay.
But the executive secretary of the Local Government Service
Commission, Nana Ogbodo, said the money was deployed in the payment of
salaries, gratuities and pensions. He said the government cleared all
outstanding salaries of local government workers and their leave
allowances as well as other developmental needs of the state.
He, nevertheless, clarified that some pensioners were still being
owed. He blamed the backlog of arrears which the incumbent
administration inherited. He added that the arrears of gratuity had
accumulated since 2001.
Abia received about N14.152billion. Sources, however, said workers
are owed several months of salaries and arrears. Pensioners are owed
about 19 to 23 months.
Uchenna Obigwe, the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC), said he could not recall the last time gratuity was paid. “Not in
this administration,” he stressed.
But an official who spoke anonymously said the government used part of the funds for the development of the state.
Ebonyi State government received N4.063 billion in 2015. Further
investigation showed that the state benefitted in two other tranches.
The chief press secretary to the governor, Emma Uzor, said the state
government is ready to refund the Federal Government. According to him,
“We are insisting that if they want us to refund, we will refund. But we
have to sit and know how they will settle the N33 billion they owe to
us. All the jobs we did in the state that are federal were documented.
We secured approval before doing them. If they want us to refund, then
we will ask them to check their records. I am sure that in the end,
there will still be something left for the Federal Government to refund
to us.”
With N20.806 billion, Imo State received the largest bailout in the
zone. While many residents said the money was mismanaged, given the huge
arrears of pensions, gratuities and salaries owed, the immediate past
governor, Rochas Okorocha, maintained that he used the money to settle
the backlog of pensioners’ entitlements.
The former governor, who is believed to have received the large sum
because of his membership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC),
also said he raised a committee to handle the funds.
Popular News
-
A US mayor of a small town in Illinois who sent Police officers on Sunday to break up parties amid coronavirus lockdown was left shocked ...
-
Happy New Month Nigeria! Welcome to the month of June. As the world searches for a respite from all its troubles since 2020 began, one can ...
-
Mesothelioma is an aggressive cancer affecting the membrane lining of the lungs and abdomen. Malignant mesothelioma is the most serious o...
-
The Osun State Governor, Chief Ademola Adeleke, has escaped a horrific fate, according to a report by Leadership. By a stroke of luck, wh...
-
The United Kingdom (UK) has announced new travel requirements. This is as it said Visa is not enough for people wishing to enter the c...
-
In the dynamic and fiercely competitive business landscape of today, one thing remains constant: the power of advertising. With the right ...
-
For the quarter, added 537,000 residential and small enterprise business internet customers versus 380,000 within the prior year quarter....
-
Nigeria's number one man, President Bola Tinubu is currently meeting with “The class of 1999 governors” at the presidential villa, Ab...
-
As you are about to choose memory booster supplement, look for anyone that contains the right ingredients that help improve memory and co...
-
Senate President Ahmad Lawan has talked about the new naira note scarcity. He says there is no need for a time limit on the validity of t...
-
Italy have been crowned champions of the 2020 European Championship after defeating England 3-2 in penalties on Sunday night, July 11. ...
-
“Every improvement contributing to your outstanding experience is our daily motivation.” - Remitano Every product and feature on the Rem...
-
For the quarter, added 537,000 residential and small enterprise business internet customers versus 380,000 within the prior year quarter....
-
SMS marketing is a marketing channel which allows businesses to message customers with marketing messages through SMS, or more commonly kn...
-
Breaking news about iceland country incredible but true if you are interested read the full story iceland team was able to achieve an ...
-
Happy New Month Nigeria! Welcome to the month of June. As the world searches for a respite from all its troubles since 2020 began, one can ...
-
An Israeli professor has claimed that coronavirus will disappear after 70 days with or without intervention. The unproven claims were ma...
-
The Remitano founding team has always maintained the belief and vision that blockchain and cryptocurrencies are a big step forward for s...
-
Would you believe it if someone tells you that cayenne pepper has the power to stop a heart attack within a minute? Believe it or not, thi...
-
Apparently, ginger, a well-known spice we frequently add to different dishes to enhance the flavor, has the power to prevent cancer. But, i...
- bitcoin
- bitcoin mining
- Coronavirus
- dr anu nigeria
- coronavirus china
- Benefit Of Ginger Water
- Bobrisky
- Buhari
- coronavirus cure
- benefits of drinking milk
- Biafran War
- coronavirus death rate
- coronavirus outbreak
- dede one day mansion
- coronavirus update
- History of Biafra
- How To Make Ginger Water
- eri
- How to save your phone battery
- is 5g dangerous
- Kobe Bryant
- Jennifer Aniston
- kobe bryant family
- latest nigeria news paper
- kobe bryant wife
- latest on nigeria news
- naija news
- Malignant mesothelioma
- nigeria news
- Mesothelioma survival rates
- newspaper online in nigeria
- nigeria news breaking
- nigeria news headline today
- nigeria news of the day
- nigeria news paper online
- nigeria newspaper
- nigeria news paper today
- nigeria news today & breaking
- nigeria newspaper online
- nigerianewspaper
- nigeria newspapers
- Regina Daniels
- online dating scams
- Side Effects Of Eating Corn
- t mobile data usage
- online nigeria news
- what is tiger nut
- tiger nuts
- Tyson Fury
0 comments:
Post a Comment