ABUJA – As part of a three-pronged relief package that will end workers plight, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved release of N713.7billion intervention funds for states.
While N413.7billion represents special intervention funds, the balance of about N250billion to N300billion is a soft loan to states.
Also, N413.7billion ($2.1billion) is sourced from Liquefied Natural Gas proceeds and the remaining N300billion is a Central Bank-packaged special intervention fund.
The Debt Management Office (DMO) is expected to assist states to restructure over N660billion commercial loans crippling their economy.
With the development, President Buhari has stopped deduction of monthly allocations to states at source. Instead, the Federal Government will “use its influence to guarantee the elongation of the loans for the benefit of the states.”
Beneficiaries of the relief package include workers in Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who have remained unpaid for several months.
During inauguration of NEC last week, President Buhari had asked the Council, which is a constitutional advisory body to as a matter of priority consider how to “liquidate the unpaid salaries of workers across the country, a situation he observed has brought untold hardship to the workers.”
At the NEC meeting, the relief measures were extensively discussed between the state governors and top officials of the federal government including the CBN governor, and the Permanent Secretaries from Ministries of Finance and Petroleum Resources. Other agencies that were actively involved in the process include the DMO and officials from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
About 12 of the 36 states of the federation owed their workers about N110b
They imclude Osun, Rivers, Oyo, Ekiti, Kwara, Kogi, Ondo, Plateau, Benue, and Bauchi States.
With the withdrawal of $1.7billion from the Excess Crude Account there will be just about $.3billion remaining in the account which was created to help the two tiers of government save for raining days.
Edo state governor, Adams Oshiomole, had told journalists after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, last week Tuesday, that following a spate of curious withdrawals from the account by the last administration, only $2billion was left in the account.
State Governors in a group photograph with President Mohammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo shortly after the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Aso Rock Villa.
