Following the bitting effects of the country's present economic crisis, the Federal Government has packaged a fresh financial support facility for state governments.
Only last year, most state governments got bailout funds from the Federal Government to clear arrears of salaries owed their workers.
Owing to the fall in the international price of oil and the attendant reduction in the monthly allocation available to the states from the Federation Account, most states are still unable to meet their financial obligations.
However, the Federal Ministry of Finance has assured that further relief would come their way soon provided they keyed into the 22-point reform agenda tagged the Fiscal Sustainability Plan, FSP.
The FSP was endorsed by the states themselves at a recent meeting of the National Economic Council, NEC.
The FSP requires the states to publish their audited financial statements and budgets, biometric and Bank Verification Number, BVN payroll review exercises for the workers, and restrict recurrent expenditures.
The states are also required to set and meet targets to increase their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, establish Efficiency Units to reduce overhead costs, privatize State Owned Enterprises, domesticate Fiscal Responsibility Act, and limit further bank loans.
The Ministry said the Federal Government has agreed to develop International Public Sector Accounting Standards, IPSAS compliant software for the states.
It will also develop new bond issuance guidelines to ease access to the capital market for states wishing to fund developmental projects.
In the words of Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun, the "FSP represents an important programme of reforms that will develop best practice financial management across all tiers of Government and will improve transparency and accountability.
“Overall we believe that the survival of State Governments is essential to the economic recovery of Nigeria, specifically their ability to meet salary obligations."
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