BEVERLY HILLS, October 01, (THEWILL) – The federal government says it has disbursed the sum of N1.642trn bailout funds to states and local governments between 2015 and 2017, stating that the amount was released thus: N200bn in 2015; N441bn in 2016 and N1trn in 2017.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who revealed this in a nationwide broadcast to commemorate Nigeria’s 57th Independence anniversary on Sunday, stated that the measure was aimed at stabilising the economy.
According to him, the funds were released to enable the states and local governments “pay outstanding salaries, pensions and small business suppliers who had been all but crippled over the years”.
The President said, “in order to stabilize the polity, the federal government gave additional support to states in the form of State Excess Crude Account loans, Budget Support Facility, and Stabilization Fund Release to state and local government as follows:
“N200 billion in 2015, N441 billion in 2016 and N1 trillion in 2017, altogether totaling N1.64 trillion. This was done to enable states to pay outstanding salaries, pensions and small business suppliers who had been all but crippled over the years.”
THEWILL recalls that Buhari had while meeting with members of the National Council of Traditional Rulers, urged governors to pay all outstanding salaries of their workers, and accumulated pensions of ex-workers from the additional funds provided to them by the Federal Government from the Paris Club debt refunds.
He frowned at the inability of the concerned state governments to pay retirement benefits and outstanding salaries of workers with their shares of Paris Club Loan Refunds paid to them.
“We have to digress this much because I would like to convince you that I’m living with the problems of this country day-by-day, and mostly those of the ordinary people. There are Nigerians that haven’t been paid for six months; there are Nigerians that have not been paid their retirement benefits for years.
“I’m appealing to the governors (that was why we voted money; we borrowed money), please make sure you pay anybody under you; pay them because most of them depend on that salary to pay rent, school fees,’’ Buhari had said.
Still at the Independence day broadcast, the President acknowledged the crisis posed to the economy by poor electricity generation and supply and promised that efforts were being made to increase investments and ensure that power generation rises to 10,000 megawatts by 2020.
“We hope to reach 10,000 Megawatts by 2020. Key priorities include better energy mix through solar and hydro technologies. I am glad to say that after many years of limbo, Mambilla Power Project has taken off,’’ he said, revealing that energy production had reached an all-time high of 7,001 Megawatts as of Sept 12.
He further stated that the federal government’s N500bn Special Intervention Programme targeted groups through the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme and the N-Power Programme as well as providing loans to small-scale traders and artisans.
Buhari said that the intervention programme also covered the Conditional Cash Transfer, Family Homes Fund and Social Housing Scheme.
He also announced that a new presidential initiative that would create a minimum of 10,000 jobs for unemployed youths across 36 states of the federation and Federal Capital Territory, FCT, will soon be inaugurated with the aid of CBN’s development finance initiatives.
The President went on to express delight that the country had recorded seven consecutive months of lower inflation.
According to him, “Naira rate is beginning to stabilize, appreciating from N525 to one dollar in February this year to N360 today. Broad-based economic growth is leading us out of recession.
“Elsewhere in the economy the special window created for manufacturers, investors and exporters, foreign exchange requirements have proved very effective. Since April, about seven billion dollars h
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