President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to state governors to pay workers in their various states. The President made the appeal when he met with traditional rulers inside the Presidential Villa in the nation’s capital Abuja on Monday. Workers and pensioners in many states in the country are still being owed months of salaries and the President is worried about the situation and expects that the Paris Club refunds to states would have eased the situation.
President Buhari said, “There are Nigerians that haven’t been paid for six months. There are Nigerians that haven’t been paid their retirement benefits for years. I appeal to the governors; that is why we voted money, we borrowed money. Please, make sure (you pay) anybody under you. If he is working, he depends on the salary to pay rent, to hold his family, for education, health care…”
According to the President, in order to secure Nigeria, it is important to secure its resources. The President also used the occasion to preach unity and love among Nigerians.
“Please, continue to pacify your people, to tell them, please think of themselves and their neighbours and their states as all Nigerians. Let us continue to bear with your people,” he told the traditional leaders, among who were the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Sa’ad III, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi. Those who stand for elections, we know our limitations. We have to continue to strengthen our constitution, to strengthen the resolve of our people. To live together and work together.”
I would have gone on Exile – President
President Muhammadu Buhari admitted that he would have run away from the country if the country had not experienced the level of rainfall witnessed in the last two years. The President is happy with the level of rainfall this year. And he joked that he would have run away from the country if things had not improved.
He said, “We were lucky last year and this year, the rainy season is even good. If it were not good, I will confide in you that I was deciding which country I shall run to. But God answered the prayers of many Nigerians. The rainy season last year was good and this year with the report I’m getting is good. We thank God for that otherwise there would have been a lot of problems in this country.”
Buhari said this on Monday when he hosted the National Council of Traditional Rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto Muhammad S Abubakar III, in Aso Villa, Abuja. The President assured the traditional rulers that he was aware of the problems Nigerians faced and that he is committed to addressing them.
Buhari said the mismanagement of resources over the years was responsible for the current economic hardship. “I will like to convince you that I am living with the problems of this country day by day and, mostly, of ordinary people,” he said.
The President said that he would continue to pursue programmes that would improve the lives of Nigerians.
Those who spoke were the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, who is the chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers, the Ooni of Ife, His Majesty, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, who spoke on behalf of the South West geo-political zone and the Chairman of the South East Council of Traditional Rulers, Eze Eberechi Dick.
Others were the Amanyenebo of Nembe, His Majesty, Edmund Dakoru, on behalf of the South South, the Emir of Kano, His Majesty, Mohammed Sanusi II, on behalf of the North West and the Gbom Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba, who spoke on behalf of traditional rulers from the North Central.
