WHEN on July 27, this year, President Muhammadu Buhari introduced what he termed a  ‘bailout’ package to essentially reflate the Nigerian economy, particularly, at the state level, where basic element of governance had collapsed, because of the inability to pay workers’ salaries, little did he know that some governors were plotting discreetly to subvert the objective of the bailout.

The Guardian learnt from a source in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that immediately these governors got a wind of the N350b stimulus package, they took advantage of it and presented ‘very bogus’ amount, as what they reportedly owe their workers, with a view to making something out of the largesse.

This development has reportedly generated bad blood between the governors and trade unions in some of the states where workers are still being owed, with some governors now raising up committees to ‘manage ‘ the salary funds, which originally, was designed by the CBN to be credited directly to workers’ salaries accounts.

In many states, including Cross River, Abia, and Imo, among others, there is no love lost between the governors and workers who are challenging their governors for attempting to divert the funds for purposes other than settling them their arrears.

Our source asked, rather rhetorically, “do you know that some governors padded the salaries claims of their workers to draw funds from the package? In fact, one state presented over N50b claim, and you wonder what they were doing with the monthly allocations from the Federation Account.”

The source continued: “It tells you that something is fishing. That was why, when we were monitoring implementation of the fund’s disbursement, we found out that the governors that padded the amount required ‘are now sieving the chaff from the grains’, before they can effect the payment to the authentic workers, while they keep the difference. That would also explain the reason for the setting up of committees in these affected states for the management of the funds.”

Asked why the CBN released funds to states that did not fulfill one of the conditions that account details of every worker owed should be supplied so that the sums against each worker would be credited directly to his or her bank account, the source that preferred to remain anonymous denied comments

Attempts to speak with the Director, Corporate Communications of the apex bank were not successful, as calls and messages to his mobile phone were unanswered. It was later learnt that he was attending a meeting in Lagos.

It was equally learnt that, as at last week, 27 states had already accessed a little above 300 billion, while three more states were yet to fully meet the conditions for the drawdown of the Funds.

The conditions, which have been seriously, relaxed for the states, included the approval of the states’ House of Assemblies and the signing of the Irrevocable Payment Standing Order (IPSO), as well as a list of the entire workforce owed and the amount involved, as well as the workers’ bank details.

But it does appear that the states may have lobbied that the workers’ bank details be expunged to create room for them to receive and warehouse the funds, giving rise for committees to superintend the funds.

Recall that in addition to the direct cash bailout for salaries payment, the President Buhari’s stimulus package also includes, the sharing of about $2.1b (N413.7b) in fresh allocation between the states and the Federal Government being revenue sources from recent NLNG (Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas) proceeds to the Federation Account as well as well as a debt relief programme proposed by the Debt Management Office (DMO) which will help states restructure their commercial loans currently put at over N660b and extend the tenure of the loans to 15 years, thereby, reducing their debt service obligations.

Meanwhile, a former Federal Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria and also former member of the Presidential Committee on Dialogue and restoration of peace in Northern Nigeria  (PCCDR), Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko has blamed the CBN for releasing the bailout funds to the States or their Governors instead of adhering to its rules of disbursing directly to the workers owed.

Onwubiko, who is the founder and National Coordinator of Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria  (HURIWA), a pro-transparency and non-governmental organisation called on President Buhari to call on all the governors, who forced their state economies on their knees, to account for their financial misdeeds, whether they have left or still serving, to serve as a deterrent to others.

He also called on the CBN to ensure strict monitoring of the disbursement to prevent the states’ helmsmen from further diverting the funds meant to reflate the economy, by clearing all salaries and allowances owed workers up to the local council levels.

His words: “ The Central Bank of Nigeria erred fundamentally by releasing the funds to those states whose governors were guilty of bad governance, in the first instance, when they couldn’t meet up with their statutory obligations of paying their workers. What the Central Bank ought to have done was to liaise with the relevant Finance Ministries of those states, with the knowledge of their bosses, for the salary account details of the state workers to be sent directly to the Central Bank of Nigeria, so the payments are made directly into their respective salary accounts.”