Seek creative ways to pay salaries, Buhari tells states

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday urged governments at all levels to be prudent in the management of resources at their disposal to ensure national growth, job creation and equity in the country.

The president, who was speaking at the inauguration of the National Economic Council in Abuja, pledged to ensure that his administration upholds accountability, transparency and integrity in the distribution of revenues in the Federation Account in line with the provisions of Sections 80 and 162 of the Constitution.

Cultivating the culture of prudent management of resources at all levels of government, he said, would entail looking inwards to secure sustainable ways of increasing internally generated revenue and harnessing growth potentials of each State to supplement the allocation from the Federation Account.

He challenged the various state governments whose governors are members of the council to initiate projects that would meet the immediate needs of the people in their domains, taking into account the limited resources at their disposal.

As a matter of urgency, he said he wanted members of the Economic Council to explore efficient means of gradually clearing all unpaid salaries of staff, to remove the untold hardship this has brought to thousands of families in recent times.

He promised that his administration would ensure that all revenue generating agencies complied with stipulated Financial Regulations and Administrative Instructions in their remittances into the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The revenue agencies include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigeria Customs Services, Federal Inland Revenue Services, Nigeria Ports Authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas.

Restating the primary objective of his administration – to tackle insecurity, youth unemployment through the revival of agriculture, solid minerals mining as well as small and medium size businesses — Mr. Buhari said his administration was fully committed to sustainable visionary initiatives and programmes that would restructure and transform the country’s economy.

“I urge you all to ensure that we surmount these enormous challenges facing us as a country by working to support economic policies, which the government will soon unveil to grow our economy and finance our external promises,” he said.

“We are also committed to ensuring collaboration and facilitation of the International efforts to combat threats of cross-border terrorism, sea piracy, refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), financial crimes, cyber-crimes, climate change, spread of communicable diseases and other challenges of the 21st century,” he added.

He underlined the need for close cooperation and collaboration among neighbouring states on projects, such as interstate and feeder roads, soil erosion, desertification and other developmental programmes, pointing out that as one country, they had the responsibility to lead by example.

Despite the challenges of pervasive corruption, fuel and power shortages, public service reforms, the president underscored the need to allow every tier of government to exercise its constitutional responsibilities.

“As far as is possible, there should be distance between politics and development programmes,” he said.

The NEC, as one of the Federal Executive bodies, was established by the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999), as amended, Third Schedule, Part I, Section 153: Sub section (18 & 19).

It has the mandate to advise the President on the country’s economic affairs, and in particular on measures necessary for the co-ordination of the economic planning and programmes of the various governments of the Federation.