The pan Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, has called on the Federal Government to stop issuing bail-out funds to state governments, canvassing a second look at the revenue allocation formula.
Afenifere, in a communiqué by its spokesman, Yinka Odumakin, maintained that a restructuring of the existing system of governance is the only solution to the current economic crises bedeviling the country.
The communiqué was read yesterday by Odumakin at the end of the group’s monthly meeting in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
According to the group, “There is much hardship in town largely occasioned by the fact that government is the largest spender in our economy, and the economic crunch that the government is facing has made it difficult for government at all levels to meet their obligations to their workers.
“This has created a terminal crisis which almost 30 states today cannot pay their salaries for some months. We are insisting that until Nigeria restructure to have a new economic model that allows every state to go under the soil and bring out their resources to expand the productive base so that there will be more prosperity and can take care of their workers.
“But in the short term, we are asking that the Federal Government should stop being a money lender to the state, giving bail-outs and giving conditions like IMF to states; rather we should take another look at the revenue allocation formula and free some of what the federal government is holding at the moment to go to the state.
“Statutorily, in any case, most of the resources that the FG is using to getting these resources that are given as bail-outs came from the state.
“The only territory that belongs to the FG today is the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and that FCT, ordinary pure water; they are not producing anything there. So if you are giving bail-out, let us slash what FG is taking to go to the state and so that they can meet their statutory obligation to their workers.”
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