Niger: Revenue from the Fed. Acct drops by 73%, says Gov. Aliyu

From Yakubu Mustapha, Minna

Niger state Governor Dir. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu has said that the revenue accruable to the state from the Federation Account has dropped by over 73% in the last one month.

Governor Aliyu made the revelation in Minna yesterday, when he performed the ground-breaking ceremony of the Commercial and Office Complex of the Niger state supply company.

Aliyu said the continuous drop in the price of crude in the international market has strengthened the call for states of the federation to look inwards for other means of funding their projects.

The governor however assured that no matter what happens he will keep to his promise of payment of staff salaries and allowances before the end of every month noting that some stats in the country have not been able to pay salary of their workers for upwards of 7 months.

“We will never allow a situation no matter the difficulty where we will not pay workers salaries”.

He said his administration has cleared all arrears of pension and gratuities inherited from the last administration adding that the government has enough money in reserve to pay pension to retirees of government for the next five years.

He challenged the private sector to partner with the government in the economic development of the state, saying that the economic transformation of the state should not be left to the government alone.

Governor Aliyu also commended the management of the Niger state Supply Company, for keeping the firm afloat after it was divested from the hands of the government.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, Alhaji Abdulkhadir Lapai, in an address said the new three-storey building complex will cost over N32m and will be completed within 6 months.

Alhaji Lapai appreciated the support the government has given the company, which he said has made it to record so much success in the last couple of years.