Politics of bailout

Governors are seeking for fresh bailout from the Federal Government, as if it is their right. They made the declaration at a meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) when they met President Muhammadu Buhari. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE examines the pros and cons of the bailout.

When President Muhammadu assumed office, he met many problems begging for urgent attention. One of them was the inability of state governors to pay workers’ salaries. It was so bad that some states owed between six months and one year salaries.

Workers’ salaries became so challenging that the threat of strikes was imminent in most of the states. Workers actually went on strike, while those yet to do so were warming up for it; making the President to actually feel sympathetic to their plight.

The President, upon receiving funds from the Paris Club, gave governors the money to settle the backlog of salaries. But, some governors did not apply the money to the problems they were meant to solve.

Many governors still owe, despite the large sums of money they were given to cushion the effects of the harsh economic realities on workers. Those who managed to pay workers up to date, in no distant time, started owing workers. The situation necessitated renewed calls to authenticate the claims of mismanagement leveled against some governors over the Paris Club refund.

Bauchi State Governor Mohammed Abdullahi, during the National Working Committee (NWC) meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said Buhari expressed concern that workers were owed salaries. He noted that the last refund from the Paris Club was judicious utilised by the governors.

At the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the governors made it clear that they could no longer cope with workers’ salaries.

Ebonyi State Governor Dave Umahi who made the disclosure after the meeting, said the request for bailout for states was to offset salaries arrears. He said this could come in form of budget support, the same view shared by his Bauch counterpart, who said that the Paris Club refund is the right of states.

Umahi said it was  difficult to function well, when what accrues to the state is less than N600 billion from the Federation Account. He said the governors had put in their best to meet workers demand.

He said: “We came to the understanding that every month, if the total shareable revenue in the federation account is less that N600 billion, the Minister of Finance has to give each state budget support.

“In the last 12 months and that continued to the second year. States have done very well and have been able to pay their accumulated salary debts. They have equally increased their commitment to infrastructure and revenue generation.”

The call for bailout has been criticised from different quarters, because it had barely clocked two years, when the Federal Government gave states money for the same purpose they are now demanding.

Analysts say the state cannot continue to seek bailout to function. They said states must look beyond handouts from the federal government to be able to perform their statutory obligations.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had shown concern on how the money would be used when President Buhari gave them the funds. It pledged to work with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to monitor the disbursement of the funds.

The NLC even directed its affiliate councils to serve as whistle blowers to reports any criminal diversion of bailout funds by the state governments. Despite the pledge, the same complaints had resurfaced again and Nigerians are getting agitated whether fresh bailout will not go the same way.

Observers say most state governments do not attach much importance to workers salaries. They said government believes that workers could be relegated because on capital projects.

Commenting on the need to pay workers his salaries as and when due, the Secretary General of Association Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) Comrade Bashir Lawal said state were defaulting despite the huge bailout received from the Federal Government.

Lawal added: “In other parts of the world, you pay workers salaries before doing anything else. It is in Nigeria that reverse is the case; the governors prefer to spend workers money on white elephants project because these are avenue for cut corners.

“Some of the state who had applied the money judiciously, they do not owe workers. Some of them who in spite of the huge them that made them seek the President attention to pay salaries, refused to apply to it when they got the found. They carry on as if the workers could go to hell.

“The Federal Government is also guilty of the same conduct. It is busy bailing out state and local governments without its own workers. They owed not less than N290 billion promotion areas for its workers. Those promoted from one grade level to the other are still earning the same salary of the last position.”

The ASCSN scribe, who expressed disappointment over the negligence of federal workers, noted that it would press harder on government to equally bail itself out of the mess that had been in place since 2007.

He said: “We have made noise, but government is not listening. So, we are prepared and very shortly, we will do something to at least, compel the government to look our side. This indebtedness to workers dates back to 2007 and we are talking of 2017. This is 10 years, it is precarious situation, but we are hopeful that some of the action we intend to take will compel government to address the issue.”

Others who spoke to The Nation expressed dismay that things are not done properly. They cautioned that government must put its acts right to make Nigerians believe in what it is doing.

The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, said the idea of bail out for states is fiscal rascality. He added that on budget estimation, there was no money put in place to grant bail out.

He said states take advantage of the fact that they could go to the Federal Government to seek fund, which would be given to them, to perpetuate laziness, noting that most states have abandoned projects that are laudable for beggarly lifestyle.

Odumakin added: “Let me say that either in last year or this year budget, there was no money earmark to grant bailout for anybody. The power to expend funds lies with the National Assembly. So, the Paris Club refunds given to state are illegal allocations to them.

“Again, you don’t need to bail anybody out because the governors would take the money and many of them have mismanaged the funds they have collected from the Paris Club. There has never been any accountability on the money they have collected so far. That has not solve the problem they claimed they got the money for in the first place.

“What we need at this stage is not for state to run to government to collect money refunded by the Paris Club, the money should be reinvested into productive gesture to turn around the economy. There is no solution in bailout and bailout cannot bailout anybody. It can only bailout the pockets of the governors who are collecting the money.”

The Chief Executive of the Coalition Against Corrupt leaders (CACOL), Debo Adeniran, said the system is faulty, adding that the federalism practice in Nigeria has not been helpful. He said where true federalism is obtained, the states would be up and doing to take up responsibilities granted them by the constitution. He said they would beef up their internally generated revenue and would not be bothered about running to the federal government.

Adeniran added: “It is not justified that state would be receiving bailout every now and then. I must say that any business that is not viable should pack and go. When we are talking about the Paris Club Refund, it is expected that the money should go to the Federation Account.

“The states are entitled to it; however, the federal government owed it a duty to monitor the way the money is applied. That is where the oversight function of the National Assembly is important. The money is not supposed to be spent on recurrent expenditure rather for capital development.

“So, the bailout of state is not supposed to have continued the way it is now. The earlier bailout was to alleviate the condition of the state and not for them to make an issue they have to continually seek from time to time.”

He added: “It is only Lagos that I have seen that had not shown interest in the bailout. This does not mean that some of the states are being marginalized. I have to point out that all the states have become so lazy except Lagos in improving their internally generated revenue.

“They no longer engage in productive activities like agriculture, manufacturing, marketing and other ventures that can add value to the state’s income. They only rely on taxes and possibly do not re-channel the money to the state, to allow tax payers enjoy the outcome of the taxes they pay.”

Adeniran maintained that the bailout is an affront on the people, urging members of the civil society, the media to keep a close watch on how state governors put to use the money they collect from the federal government.

The National Chairman of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), Prof. Bankole Okuwa, said state governments are not competent. He said the situation in Ogun State is an aberration. Okuwa said: “The governor does not care about the salaries of its workers. He is busy building roads everywhere which are not needed. Billions of naira are going into the projects, these road have become havens for destitute and robbers.

Observers said this is the time the workers must rise to demand for a better life. They opined that, workers should look use their voters rights to change the situation.

They believe the workers whether in states or at the national level could turn the table in their favour by being politically conscious.

Workers, according to them have a strong weapon they could use during election, citing their voting the rights.

The people must stop selling their votes to the highest bidders to offer them food, clothes and money during elections. If they consider its imperative to build a future, they must shun those who come to buy their votes during elections, an observer noted.

Former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, believes the solution to Nigeria’s endless problems is for the country to function with six regional units.

Anyaoku said zones could become the federating units for the country, noting that states seeking bailout would have to square up for productive venture under the zonal arrangement.

He explained that the 36 states could be retained as development zone within the regions but without full administrative paraphernalia. He added that the present status of Nigeria would continue to attract more debt if something substantial was not done to arrest the drift.

 

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