Govt wage bill drops by N6.6b, says Adeosun

Minister says states can draw N510b budget support if they display prudence, transparency

The Federal Government yesterday revealed that efforts at improving transparency in the management of public finance have enabled it save about N6.6billion on its payroll since November 2015.

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who made this revelation yesterday while responding to questions on Channels Television Programme said the activities of the Efficiency Unit (E-UNIT) approved by President Muhammadu Buhari -led administration, since last November has “cleaned our payroll. As at last week, we had reduced our payroll amount by N6.6 billion between when I started work in November and today.”

Adeosun said that government was committed to cutting cost of governance, adding that the implementation of the policy was across board of the lower and higher cadre of the public sector, adding that it would be unfair if it affects the junior workers only.

She said cash-strapped state governments have the opportunity to benefit from the N510 billion fiscal support programme (FSP) budget support fund being floated by the Federal Government, but they must first exhibit fiscal discipline and transparency in their expenditures to be qualified for the special grant.

According to the minister, “The facility size is not N90 billion, rather N50 billion per month, for the first three months and N40 billion per month for following 9 months. Monthly disbursements to each state will be conditional on compliance with pre-agreed FSP milestones. 35 states have applied and are in the process of submitting the required documentation which are being reviewed-There have been erroneous claims in some papers that ‘only seven or five states have met FG’s conditions,’ this is factually wrong. FSP reforms will take 18 months to fully implement.

“The FSP reforms will take 18 months to be fully implemented, but there are key milestones within the period to measure compliance. The objective is to ensure that states are set on a path towards fiscal sustainability with a clear link between Federal Government funding and necessary reform. Monthly disbursements to each state will be conditional on compliance with pre-agreed FSP milestones. The states have agreed and endorsed this approach. It is also a path to supporting and increasing productivity and diversification of States economies, such as in agriculture increasing food security and opportunities for exports,” Adeosun further explained.