The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has cautioned state governors to take a cue from the prudence and transparency exhibited by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in ensuring that all tiers of government get more in March allocation from the federation account.
According to the group, this is in spite of the shortfall in oil revenue as a result of declining oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke, BMO explained that what was disbursed at the last Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting was higher than the previous month’s disbursements because of integrity and efficiency in revenue collection.
“Only a month ago, N581.56bn was available to be disbursed to all the tiers of government, and that was when oil prices were still relatively high, but in the midst of the global chaos, the federal authorities were able to do almost N200bn better, with the disbursement of N780.92bn.
“This speaks to the importance of transparency and integrity-based reforms that the Buhari administration has brought to bear on governance in the country since 2015
“Without mincing words, we invite State governors to take a cue from this, especially at a time that all global economic indicators are on a downward trend.
“It all boils down to having an efficient system that will consciously block all revenue leakages as well as a leadership that is keenly interested in ensuring prudent management of resources.
“Nigerians would easily recall that we once had a government at the center that had to go a-borrowing from commercial banks to pay federal staff at the first sight of a dip in federally collected revenue.”
BMO also urged state governments to adopt a more cautious approach to expenditure and management of public funds.
“Just as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Governor Kayode Fayemi recently warned his colleagues, there is a strong likelihood of zero oil revenue from June because the commodity is sold three months ahead, so now is the time for state governments to be less cavalier in spending.
“Yes, the Buhari administration is thinking ahead and has made provisions for a $150m buffer from the Sovereign Wealth Fund to cushion the effect of oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic on state allocation, but this is no time for governors to engage more aides or embark on white elephant projects with scarce resources.
“We urge States to implement reforms that cut needless expenditure, be more deliberate in weeding out ghost workers – as the Buhari administration has done-and, most importantly, focus on the well-being of their people, especially those at the grassroots.
“President Buhari has provided the template for both prudence and people targeted policies in the harshest of times and we expect the States to look at this template and avoid situations that could lead to the President bailing out governors who are owing backlogs of salaries and pensions”, it said.
The group however reassured Nigerians that the Buhari administration would continue to explore all options to ensure that the country would not bear the full brunt of the impending global economic crisis.