By Nairaland Forum The governors were concerned about the deteriorating state of the economy and the ripple effect on the nation ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Nigerian governors advised President Muhammadu Buhari-led’s government to take some urgent steps as part of coordinated efforts to instill fiscal discipline and prevent the nation from economic collapse.
The governors made the proposal at a meeting with Mr. Buhari last month, PREMIUM TIMES gathered from sources privy to details of the meeting.
This newspaper reported that the governors advised the federal government to offer federal civil servants who are older than 50 years a one-off retirement package to exit the service.
They equally urged the federal government to immediately put an end to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s financing of the government’s budgetary expenditures and convert its N19 trillion debt into a 100-year bond.
The governors were concerned about the deteriorating state of the economy and the ripple effect on the nation ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Earlier in the week, a PREMIUM TIMES analysis of Nigeria’s external reserves revealed that the figures amount to only $15 billion, well below the $36 billion balance on the gross external reserves claimed by the central bank. With the nation spending N5.9 trillion on imports in the first quarter of the year, reserves of $15 billion would barely cover four months of imports.
Last week, details emerged that the balance in Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account had depleted significantly from $35.37 million to $376,655, leaving the nation with no buffers to stabilize the economy and its currency. Yet another indication emerged recently that the nation was broke as debt service surpassed revenue. According to details of the 2022 fiscal performance report for January through April, Nigeria’s total revenue stood at N1.63 trillion while debt servicing stood at N1.94 trillion, showing a variance of over N300 billion.
Here is a comprehensive list of the measures proposed by the governors as part of efforts to rescue the nation’s economy and reduce the cost of governance. The list also contains the 2022 estimated savings expected from the implementation of the proposed measures.
Measures
The governors advised President Muhammadu Buhari to:A. Reduce FGN expenditure immediately (with estimated savings in 2022 in brackets):
1. Eliminate PMS subsidy/under-recovery – (N6-7 trillion)
2. Eliminate NNPC’s Federation-funded projects – (N300 billion)
3. Cap Social Investment Program (SIP) and National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) budgets to N200 billion – (N570 billion)
4. Eliminate extra-constitutional deductions from FAAC – (N100 Read More
Source:: Nigerian Chatter
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