Worried about non-payment of workers’ salaries, Buhari summons state govs

A delegation of state governors, led by the chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum, Zamfara State’s Governor Abdullaziz Yari, on Tuesday met with President Muhammadu Buhari inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The governors arrived for the meeting at about 12:35pm. They were selected from the six geopolitical zones.

Among the governors were Yari, from North West; Bauchi State Governor Mohammed Abubakar, North East; Kwara State Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed, North Central; Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, South West; Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel, South-South. The South East was represented by the deputy governor of Ebonyi State, Eric Kelechi Igwe.

Also at the meeting was the Director-General of NGF, Asashana Okauru.

According to a statement by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President(Media & Publicity) President Buhari expressed concern over the growing complaints and agitations by workers in states over unpaid salaries and allowances, in spite of interventions by the Federal Government

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Receiving the governors, President Buhari said the plight of workers in the states need urgent attention as many could barely survive.

“How can anyone go to bed and sleep soundly when workers have not been paid their salaries for months..

“I actually wonder how the workers feed their families, pay their rents and even pay school fees for their children,’’ he said.

President Buhari said the Federal Government and state executives would need to work closer together to ameliorate the situation of workers across the country.

The President said he had instructed all government agencies to comply with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) in order to ensure more transparency and prudence in accounting for the revenues of the government and the sharing of entitlements with states.

In his remark, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum said the various interventions by the Federal Government, which include the bailouts, were judiciously utilized by the states, stressing that the governors inherited backlog of unpaid salaries and huge debts portfolios on assumption of office.

“We are concerned with the situation in our states, and we are trying our best to manage the resources,’’ he said.

Yari noted that the bailout funds, and part of the fallout from the London-Paris Club that had been received by the states, were properly expended to alleviate the plight of workers, but more had to be done.

The NGF chairman commended the efforts of the President in improving the economy, assuring that the states would continue working with the Federal Government to improve the livelihood of workers and all Nigerians.

Governors of Ondo, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kwara, Akwa Ibom and the Deputy Governor of Ebonyi State were part of the visit to the President.

 

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