President Muhammadu Buhari promised that his administration would make funds available to the states by expediting action on refunds due to them for the maintenance of federal roads and other expenses incurred on behalf of the federal government.
President Buhari also expressed his concern about the inability of nearly 2/3 of states of the federation to pay salaries despite the bail-out funds earlier provided to them by the federal government.
President Buhari meets with the Nigerian Governors Forum; credit: Twitter/NGRPresident
Chairman of the Governors Forum, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara state and Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state, who chaired the committee that worked on the Fiscal Restructuring Plan, said that if the plan was adopted and implemented by the federal government, states of the federation will become more financially empowered to fulfil their constitutional responsibilities.
In reaction, President Buhari said that he would establish an inter-ministerial committee to study and review the plan as well as make recommendations on how proposals in the plan should be dealt with by the Presidency, the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly through legislation.
President Buhari however urged the governors to understand that while he was ready to do all within his powers to help the states overcome their current financial challenges, the federal government also has funding problems of its own to contend with.
0 Comments