• FG says its suffering cash crunch
From ISAAC ANUMIHE, Abuja
Federal Government yesterday said it was unable to pay the February arrears to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) because there was not enough fund to pay.
It also denied any debt issue with the state finance commissioners and that it never entered into any agreement with the commissioners contrary to the claim by them that an agreement was reneged by the Federal Government.
Briefing newsmen in Abuja, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in conjunction with the Presidential Committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan, said the government was making a frantic effort to clear the backlog.
“What we are trying to say is that we have some arrears that were not cleared. So, we are trying to put our accounts together. We are now going to clear them. That is what we are saying. There is no debt, no agreement to sign. This is a federation accounts issue. We are all in it together. It is not that the Federal Government owes the states. It is a federation account. So, we have agreed now on what the arrears are and how much they are. And we are going to clear them. That is the good news we have,” the coordinating minister, said.
Also, in his remarks, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Lawan Ngama, corroborated what the coordinating minister said and insisted that the Federal Government had shortages in revenue which made it impossible to pay the shortage.
“We don’t have any debt issue at hand and there is nothing like an agreement. The main issue is that we have shortages in revenue so the amount we were supposed to statutorily distribute to the three tiers of government, including the Federal Government itself, we don’t have enough revenue to actually meet the amount that should be distributed. So, there was a shortfall.
“So, the timing of when to pay is the issue…whether we delay it or whether we pay immediately. So, when we say that we have resolved, it means that we have resolved to pay the shortage. It is not a debt. And the payment is supposed to be for the Federal Government, states and local governments,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) faction of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) had directed its finance commissioners to reconvene a meeting immediately, saying that it had obtained a commitment from the Federal Government to settle all arrears of the committee.
Also speaking, the leader of the faction and Governor of Bauchi State, Mallam Isa Yuguda said that was the resolution of the committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to resolve the issue.
He said the committee resolved to tackle the root causes of the revenue challenges facing the country including illegal bunkering and oil theft in a decisive and sustainable manner.
“The meeting reaffirmed the determination of the Federal Government and the governors to continue working together for the good of the country. To underscore the commitment reached at the meeting, it was also resolved that FAAC meeting will reconvene immediately,” he said.
Other members of the presidential committee present include, the governors of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Gombe State, Mallam Ibrahim Dankwambo and Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi.
Also, Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Jonah Otunla; Director General, Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu were present.
0 comments:
Post a Comment