Buhari tells governors days of impunity and fiscal recklessness are over

…vows to recover stolen funds …to release report on economic, financial situ – ation inherited by his administration

President Muhammadu Buhari has declared to state governors that the days of impunity, lack of accountability, and fiscal recklessness in the manage- ment of national resources are over in Nigeria.

The president also vowed to recover funds stolen by government officials and stop systemic leakages.

He further said that a com- prehensive statement on the economic and financial situa- tion inherited by his adminis- tration would be made public within the next four weeks.

At a meeting which was held to address the states’ inability to pay salaries, the governors, led by Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State,who is chairman of the Governors Forum, had presented a wish list to the President which  included a call for the obedi- ence of extant Supreme Court ruling that all monies go into the Consolidated Federation Account; An order from the President that all revenue gen- erating agencies must pay into the Consolidated Federation Account and a review of the revenue allocation formula.

Other requests included those for a  refund of the mon- ies expended by states on fed- eral projects, a special con- sideration for the three states of the North East under Boko Haram infestation, and for full disclosure of the amounts that accrued into the Excess Crude Account from 2011, and how the money miraculously shrank without official sharing.

The governors also requested for the intervention of the Federal Government on the repayment period of most of the loans owed by the states.

Yari told journalists that some run between four and seven years and “if it can be stretched to 20 years, the states will be relieved and would be able to continue other busi- nesses, including paying salaries”.

Also, out of the first charge money that was paid by the LNG, about $1.6 billion, the governors re- quested that it should be paid to the Federation Account, so that it can be shared amongst the three tiers of government.

In response, the President as- sured the governors that the Federal Government would pay, but insisted that due process must be followed.

On an immediate life- line for states owing salaries running into many months, President Buhari said a committee headed by the Vice President, Yemi Osin- bajo, would look at the Excess Crude Account and see what can be shared immediately.

ELIZABETH ARCHIBONG