The presidency yesterday warned Ekiti State governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, to stop making unsubstantiated allegations pertaining to the running of the economy by the federal government.

Specifically, the presidency said Fayose’s comment on the September federal allocation of N389 billion was reckless and typical of his past unguarded outbursts.

The senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, who sounded the presidency’s warning, was reacting to remarks made by the governor at the recent graduation ceremony of College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, in which he asked President Muhammadu Buhari to address Nigerians on the state of the economy.

Specifically, Fayose had accused the Buhari administration of paying out the lowest-ever federally distributed allocations among the three tiers of the government.

But in an exclusive chat with LEADERSHIP last night, Garba Shehu described Fayose’s assertion as one that was characteristic of his past outbursts, saying “the governor didn’t get his facts correct.”

According to the presidential spokesman, records of such past allocations showed “that the lowest-ever allocation to the three tiers was issued by the PDP-led Goodluck Jonathan administration.”

Cautioning the Ekiti State chief executive to be mindful of his utterances, Shehu said: “Governor Fayose needs to be advised to desist from spreading falsehood against the person and government of President Muahmmadu Buhari as has become characteristic of him. He needs to get his facts right before making accusations of the nature he makes.

“The governor equally knows full well that his party in government ruined the economy to the extent that workers in 27 states went for several months without salary. This crisis situation has now been reversed in nearly all the states. Governor Fayose is himself in line for the collection of his state’s bailout.

“Under the PDP federal government, ministries were not given overhead costs for five months while the capital budget was unpaid for six months in the run-up to the exit of the PDP administration. Is there anyone in that party with a moral justification to criticise the Buhari administration which is working hard to clean up the mess they (PDP) left behind?”

Backing up his position with statistics, Shehu who stated that the lowest monthly allocation in the last 12 months, amounting to N358 billion, was distributed in May this year under the PDP government, adding that the figure rose to N380 billion in June before it fell to N373 billion in October.

He continued: “Records obtained from the Ministry of Finance show that the decline in federally collected revenues shared by the three tiers didn’t just set in but had become clearly manifest under the PDP administration. In February, N480 billion was distributed. In March it was N459bn; April, N385bn; May, N357bn; June N389bn, and July, N526bn. In August, N499bn was paid out; September, N412bn and N374 in October.”

“As most Nigerians are aware, this decline in revenue has chiefly been caused by the drastic fall in oil prices, compounded by the free-wheeling crude oil theft which was allowed to thrive under the PDP administration in which Governor Fayose was a leading character.”

The presidential spokesman further noted that the low allocation under the present administration was a temporary phase that would soon go away “as the various measures put in place by the government to block leakages in revenue generation come to fruition”.

On how the problem of declining allocation would be addressed, Shehu said: “Non-oil revenue is expected to rise substantially with the effective take-off of the Treasury Single Account (TSA). With this in place, government now has a framework for understanding the picture of accruable revenues in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs). They will no longer tax and spend, but do so only in line with their budgets.

“Reforms and the close monitoring in the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Customs are all expected to shoot up federally collected revenues and would, in a short period from now, start to move the country from over-reliance on oil as promised by the president.”

He noted that, to achieve all these, the president did not need the unnecessary heckling by Governor Fayose.

“Neither is the country helped in any way by leaders peddling falsehood,” he addedhttp://www.leadership.ng/news/471490/federal-allocation-presidency-warns-governor-fayose#respond

braine:
Fayose and his big mouth. He won't go and think of how to increase revenue generation in his state. Its only FG's he gets hard-on over.

EternalTruths:
To prove FG wrong


Ask any federal worker if they have received October salary.

Firefire:
APC, Party of professional liars and career looters.

Tallesty1:
lols....



Oshiomole talks more than him.

lorbah001:



I agree with you bro but what is PDP?

hinwazaka:
This government can lie. The amount of corruption currently going on under this government is mindbogglingly. There are already stories circulating in the media of Ghana must go bags lobbying by ministerial nominees. Let them continue, Olisa Metuh has already sounded a note of warning to this government of the hawk-like watchmen that will compile and submit reports on every illegal transaction done by this government. Mr Shehu, you and your boss will not escape Kirikiri once you leave that office. Unlike the APC, the largest party in Africa, the PDP does not make empty threats.

Firefire:


The floor is open...

braine:



But, at least, Oshiomole is working and he talks with facts and figures, not winning like a little girl.

retepmurt:
Okonjo said it repeatedly last year that federal government was broke and that it would be difficult to pay workers salary in 2015.
Our economy has been bled to a state of anaemia by the outgone government.
Buhari government needs time to rectify the situation.

In the face of dwindling oil revenues, Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said the Federal Government has borrowed about N473billion to pay salaries and fund the 2015 budget.
The Minister, who was speaking in Abuja on the details of the N4.493trillion appropriation already passed by the National Assembly, said the federal government had to raise its borrowing level from N570 billion to N882 billion to enable it meet its financial obligations to workers and contractors.
The minister blamed it on the decline in oil revenue in late 2014, which accounted for 50 per cent cut in the total federally collectible revenue as well as the low revenue receipts from non-oil sources.
Source - http://www.premiumtimesng.com/business/182543-nigerian-govt-borrowing-billions-to-pay-salaries-okonjo-iweala.html

retepmurt:
Okonjo said it repeatedly last year that federal government was broke and that it would be difficult to pay workers in 2015.
Our economy has been bled to a state of anaemia by the outgone government.
Buhari government needs time to rectify the situation.