FG borrows N600b annually to pay salaries – SGF

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday disclosed that the federal government has had to borrow to the tune of N600 billion annually to pay salaries of its workforce in view of the dwindling revenue occasioned by the fall of oil price.

The Secretary to the Government of the Fed­eration, SGF, Mr Babachir Lawal, made the disclosure yesterday in Jos. He added that with the way things are going, many states may not be able to pay salaries in the next three to four months.

He urged all faith-based organisations and traditional institutions to sensitise the citizenry on the need to exercise patience in the hardship that is cur­rently being experienced by all, stressing that though this ad-ministration in­herited a country that was robbed to the last coffers, it will be revived within a short time.

Babachir, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari at the opening cer­emony of the 63rd General Church Council meeting of the Evangelical Church Winning All, ECWA, la­mented that the present administration inherited an ailing economy that must be nurtured for a period before it stabilises and as­sured citizens that with the desired cooperation, the country would come out of the slum and assume its rightful place as the most populous black nation.

“N600 billion is on the average; if you look at monies coming from the federation allocations even for the states, the Federal Government sometimes get 130 billion and some­times if lucky 200 billion and we have an expen­diture profile of roughly 800 to N900 billion, natu­rally you need to augment sources from every-where and from wherever you can find it.

“There are so many av­enues; I’m talking about local borrowings not in­ternational; there are ways and means to raise the money because the mon­ies coming from the feder­al allocation is not enough and the figures is not fixed; it varies from month to month and depends on what is able to get into the treasury and our own share of it.

In his earlier remarks, the President of ECWA, Reverend Jeremiah Gado, urged governments at all levels not to do anything that will forbid God’s will from being done in the country and urged gov­ernors to be fair to all irrespective of party affiliation, religion or tribe.