FG can’t pay your $3.2bn now, Buhari tells ALGON

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday told the Association of Local Governments in Nigeria (ALGON) that the Federal Government is unable to release its $3.2bn, owing to the current state of the economy.

Buhari said this while receiving the leadership of ALGON, according to a statement released by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

In 2013, two court judgments had ordered the Federal Government to pay ALGON about $3.2bn for wrongfully deducting money from the Federation account for the final settlement of foreign debts in 2005.

President Buhari, however said the country cannot afford to pay the debt at the moment, due to the current economic situation in the country.

Buhari said the relationship among the three tiers of government needs to be clearly defined through a constitutional amendment.

He also said his administration would support a constitutional amendment to free local governments from the shadows of state governments.

“The relationship between the three tiers of government is not a very nice one, especially that between the local governments and the states.

“The states feel like they own the local governments, if they are of the same party.  It is worse if they are not.

“This is a very serious constitutional problem and unless there is absolute clarity and transparency, the relationship will continue to be exploited against the interest of the ordinary people of the country,” the President said.

 

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