Malam Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Adviser on
Media and Publicity to the President, says the Federal
Government is determined to enforce fiscal discipline
across the states to check wasteful spending.
Shehu in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday that
the Federal Government was not limiting its economic
and financial reform programmes to the centre alone.
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He said that the Federal Government would force the
state governments to reform their spending and build
savings and investments.
The Presidential aide was reacting to the current
economic and financial challenges facing the country.
Shehu said the reform would include blockage of
leakages that allowed government’s revenues to be
siphoned into private hands.
He said that the ongoing probe into the finances of the
military authorities was part of the reform aimed at
checking corrupt practices in the military
establishment.
“Look at what a civilian administration is today doing to
the military, investigating their finance and accounts
that the military could not do to themselves.
“See what the current administration is doing to sanitise
the huge salary bill by eliminating payroll fraud.
“So far, the federal payroll has been rid of about
40,000 ghost workers. More than eight billion naira
stolen monthly has been saved.
“We are also saving on wasteful expenses like First
Class Travel and Private Jets for official trips.
“The Federal Government is not limiting the reforms to
the centre, but forcing state governments to reform
their spending and build savings or investments,’’ he
said.
According to the Presidential aide, government is also
increasing spending on capital projects, especially on
infrastructure needed to make Nigerian businesses
competitive and create jobs.
“Currently, there is focus on key sectors (apart from
oil) that can create jobs and or generate revenue such
as Agriculture, Solid Minerals and Manufacturing.’’
He said that if these things had been done when the oil
price was as high as 140 dollars per barrel, Nigeria
would not be in the current predicament.
“We would not be suffering now if we had no cash
reserves, but we had regular supply of power, a good
rail system, good roads and good housing.
“Now that the oil has fallen as low as 28 dollars per
barrel, it is very difficult to do what is needed but they
must be done to save Nigeria.
“There is no other way if we want to be honest.
“If PDP were still in power they would have continued
deceiving people, by borrowing to fund stealing and
wastage and the problem would have simply been
postponed for future generations to face.
“There are many who say that this Government’s
economic strategy is unclear whereas the previous
government seemed well co-ordinated.
“I will make the confession that we, the officials hired
to communicate government policies, that includes
myself, have not done as well as we should have.
“The truth is that more than any other time before,
there is a clear direction and strategy for achieving
growth and development.
“Revisionists may not agree, but the truth of the matter
is that the previous administration only had one issue,
which was how to spend money (oil revenues and
borrowed money).’’
He said that the spending was focused on “the wrong
things and even though the economy seemed to be
growing it was not sustainable as described by Minister
Adeosun.
