President Muhammadu Buhari is in a meeting with some Northern Governors in the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, is also in the meeting.
The Governors were led by chairman of Northern Governors Forum, Simon Lalong.
Others in the delegation are Governors Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi); Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna); Mai Mala Buni(Yobe); Abubakar Bello(Niger) and Abdullahi Sule (Nasarawa).
Details shortly…
The Senate on Wednesday approved $1.5billion and €995million external loan requests From President Muhammadu Buhari.
The president had in May 2020 sent a letter to the senate seeking its approval for another batch of external loans to enable the administration finance the 2020 budget deficit, critical projects and support some states of the federation.
The Federal Government said the loans would be used to execute priority projects and support state governments in stimulating their economy adversely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his presentation, Ordia noted that the borrowings were loans with low interest rates and a reasonable moratorium and payback period.
He said “No unusual or onerous conditions attached to the terms of the loans and do not in any manner compromise the sustainability of the Nigerian economy or impugn the integrity and independence of Nigeria as a sovereign nation.
The loan is in the immediate best interest of the Nigerian state and its citizens in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in a way that the economy will be positioned for quick recovery and resume growth.
“While Nigeria’s total public debt stock is on the increase, it is still relatively low vis-à-vis the country’s GDP and the increased borrowing requirements is needed to sustain economic recovery.”
The approved loans are as follows: “$750 million from the World Bank for states, fiscal transparency, accountability and sustainability (SFTAS) programme to provide fiscal support to states.
“World Bank’s $750 million for the COVID-19 Action Recovery and economic stimulus programme to support state level efforts to protect livelihoods, ensure food security and stimulate economic activity (N-CARES).”
The Secretary to Bauchi State Government, Alhaji Mohammed Baba, says government has temporarily stopped the salaries of 715 suspected ghost workers.
“We have their lists and the reason for stopping every salary has been clearly provided.
“What the government wants to do is to ask the commissioners in charge of the different ministries as well as departments and agencies to take their own list and go back to those people, sit down and interview them.
“It’s fine if it is something that can be sorted out but if it cannot, then, that automatically is the kind of thing we are saying about ghost workers in the system.
”Definitely, government cannot continue to pay people that do not deserve to be paid,” Baba said.
He said that government discovered that the system used for salary payment in the state had been compromised.
According to him, the purpose of the briefing is to tell you the progress the government is making in addressing the salary challenges in the state.
”The intention of the committee set up about four weeks ago is to have a payroll, where the state is not shortchanged.
“Since we came, there has been the hue and cry that there are many ghost workers in the state payroll, the intention is to address that issue squarely.
“There is a collusion between the beneficiaries and staff members to the extent that the software we are using has been opened to a lot of manipulations, therefore, we cannot rely on it,” Baba said.
Also, Mr Abdulrasak Zaki, the Commissioner for Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, said it was discovered that the names of a lot of retired local government personnel were still appearing on the payroll.
Zaki described the development as “totally unacceptable”, saying, ”we are doing everything possible to see that we remove them out of the payroll.”
The Commissioner for Justice, Yakubu Kirfi, said the identity of workers allegedly involved in salary fraud in the state would be revealed at the end of the ongoing police investigation.
Some students of Green Field University in Kaduna State have been abducted by gunmen.
The private varsity is located along the Kaduna–Abuja Highway in Chikun Local Government Area, and also the first private university in the state established about three years ago.
The latest incident is the first major attack that bandits will launch on communities around the Kaduna-Abuja Highway since 300 female soldiers were deployed to the general area in January this year.
The state Commissioner for Internal Security and Home Affairs, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, confirmed the incident.
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