The Federal Government has said that it has been unable to pay the February arrears to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC), because it has no money.
This was made known at a press briefing in Abuja on Tuesday by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, held in conjunction with the presidential committee set up by President Goodluck Jonathan to find solution to the face-off between the Federal Government and states on statutory allocations to the three tiers of government.
“What we are trying to say is that some arrears are rising before 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,” she said.
To placate the aggrieved states, Dr Okonjo-Iweala said the government was making efforts to clear the backlog, notwithstanding its lean purse.
The minister, who also denied any debt issue with the state finance commissioners, stated that it never entered into any agreement with the commissioners, contrary to the claim by them that the Federal Government reneged in an agreement it signed with the states.
Also speaking, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Lawan Ngama, insisted that the Federal Government had shortages in revenue, which made it impossible to pay the arrears.
“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. So, there was a shortfall.
“So, when we say that we have resolved, it means that we have resolved to pay the shortage. So, it is not a debt. And the payment is supposed to be for the Federal Government, states and local governments,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Governor Jonah Jang-led faction of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has directed finance commissioners to reconvene a meeting immediately, so as to share the May allocation, following the walk out on the minister by the commissioners, last week.
Bauchi State governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, said that was the resolution of the committee set up by President Jonathan to resolve the issue.
The president had, at the meeting with the governors, set up a four-man committee, headed by Governor Yuguda to work out an amicable resolution of the crisis. Other members were Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe) and Peter Obi (Anambra).
Yuguda said the committee resolved to tackle the root causes of the revenue challenges facing the country, including illegal bunkering and oil theft.
“The meeting, which was held in a positive and constructive atmosphere, 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,” Yuguda said.