Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Alhaji Abdulazeez Yari, Tuesday, held a closed door meeting to fine-tune modalities for the bailouts approved by the Federal Government for state.
According to Governor Yari, their discussion centered on the Central Bank-packaged special intervention fund approved by President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the Zamfara State governor, he decided to meet Osinbajo in order to find out from him how far the government had gone on the CBN planned intervention, adding that he had received the brief from the Vice President and would be waiting for the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who is currently on the entourage of the President to the United States, to return and take action.
Yari said: “We discussed about the issue of the special intervention funds. In our last meeting with the President, we agreed in the National Economic Council that there will be a special intervention from the Federal Government for the states that cannot foot their salary arrears to their workers.
“So, I followed up with the Chairman of the NEC (the Vice President) to know how far they have gone with the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“This issue of unpaid salaries is not only for the states; even the Federal Government is suffering the same thing.
“Therefore, we follow up to know how far they have gone with the CBN Governor and now we have gotten the brief but the CBN governor is out in Washington and immediately he comes back, we are going to take up the matter to see the end of issue of unpaid salaries to the workers.”
Speaking on the war against Boko Haram insurgency, Yari said a lot of grounds have been covered, adding that the sect could no longer be found in any forest or local government in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States, unlike what was applicable before now.
He said: “The issue of insurgency is a problem of all. Now, the Boko Haram members cannot be found in any forest, or in any local government among the occupied local governments in Borno, Yobe or Adamawa states. You cannot find them.
“So, what we are now suffering is a kind of guerrilla war, checking the bombs, dislodging the suicide bombings and what have you.
“But to see a group of 100 or 200 as Boko Haram members to confront with our military, they cannot be found. So the government and the security agencies are doing their best to ensure that peace is restored, not that these things started under one year, two years.
“We are working and now it is the responsibility of our government to ensure security of lives and property of the people and the issue of Boko Haram is number one that Mr. President is discussing with the President of the United States and the supports he is going to give Nigeria to ensure that the issue of insurgency comes to an end.
“Government is going to put machinery in place, most especially the military and security, to ensure that the insurgency comes to an end.”
Comments