Nigeria’s states owe 658 billion naira ($3.3
billion) and one way out of the financial
crisis could be for banks to extend loans to
them to up to 20 years, Zamfara state
governor said on Tuesday.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who said on
Monday the country’s treasury was
“virtually empty”, said after a meeting with
the governors on Tuesday that the
government could recover billions of stolen
dollars while some money from the Excess
Crude Account could be used to cover
unpaid salaries.
“The total indebtedness of all the states
including FCT (Federal Capital Territory) is
put at 658 billion naira. Of course, you
know that some of these states are owing
salaries, and collected loans from banks,”
Zamfara state governor Abdulaziz Yari
Abubakar told reporters after the meeting.
Several states obtained loans from the
domestic bond market and banks when oil
prices were high to fund infrastructure
projects. But the price of crude, Nigeria’s
main source of revenue, has since plunged
leaving the government with funding
challenges and unpaid salaries.
Buhari, who took office last month after
defeating incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in
March elections, said the next three months
would be challenging but vowed to recover
billions stolen by government officials and
plug leakages.
“On an immediate lifeline for states that owe
salaries running into many months,
President Buhari said that a committee
headed by the Vice President, Professor
Yemi Osinbajo, will look at the Excess Crude
Account and see what can be shared
immediately,” the presidency said in a
statement.
“We will restore sanity to the system,”
Buhari said.
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