Representatives of the Federal Government, states Accountants-General and Ministry of Finance permanent secretaries from across the country are schedule to meet on Monday on modalities for a bailout by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
This was disclosed by the Bauchi State governor, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, on Saturday evening at the breaking of fast he organised for media executives and executive members of the state council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Bauchi.
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According to the governor, Monday’s meeting was being conveyed to find out how the Federal Government could pay states the money it was owing them, saying that this was what the 36 governors requested the Federal Government to do when they met recently with President Buhari in Abuja.
Dismissing the rumour doing the round in the state that he refused to pay civil servants their backlog of salaries despite the fact that he had received money from Buhari to that effect, Governor Abubakar stated that no state had received any bailout from the Federal Government.
“Yesterday (Friday), I was in my office when someone sent me a message on my whatsapp saying that I refused to pay workers’ salaries despite the fact that I had collected money from President Buhari to pay salaries.
“I have not collected a kobo from (President) Buhari to pay salaries. The Federal Government is owing us (states) money for some federal projects executed in our states. That is what we governors asked him to do when we met with him recently.
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“That is what state Accountants-General and permanent secretaries are going to do Monday at an emergency meeting with the Federal Government. It is after this meeting that we will know what we are going to get from the Federal Government,” Abubakar stated.
