The Conference of Nigeria Civil Rights Activists (CNCRA) has demanded that states must account for the bailout fund received from the federal government for the payment of outstanding salaries owed their workers.

The group also noted that despite the disbursement of the fund many states still owe salaries querying the rationale for the released of the fund.

The convener, Ifeanyi Odili at the National Coordinating Conference (NCC) of the group in Akure last weekend, said the Federal government and all Nigerians must make the beneficiaries account for how the money was spent.

He queried why Buhari should dole out such a huge amount of money to states that squandered their money or diverted their commonwealth to private use.

According to Odili: “It will be recalled that the ousted President Goodluck Jonathan announced to the world that his government was not owing any state The sudden good Samaritan or Father Christmas disposition of Buhari is therefore questionable. It appears that the bailouts were meant to cover up certain fraud perpetrated during the presidential election. It is worrisome that the President did not bother to inquire from these states’ governors how they incurred such huge debts before turning himself to father Christmas.

“It is also appalling that in spite of the bailouts many of these states are still owing their workers, thereby defeating the whole purposes upon which the bailouts were meant for.
Referring to Ondo State as an example of the states still owing their workers, Odili said the state workers have not received two months salaries, November and December.

“Yet Mr. President has not deemed it fit to ask questions on why they could not pay, having collected billions of naira.

“If Buhari would want have us believe in his anti graft war, such state(s) should be invited for questioning on why the money was not used for the original purposes which it was meant for.
“Otherwise, he would be rubbishing his anti corruption war on the platform of partisan politics, “ he said
The CNCRA also asked the governor of Ondo state to address the state soon on what happened to the state money.

It said: “It was reliably informed that within the period of the extant administration, well over seven hundred billions naira if not trillion has acrued to the state, yet no serious project to show for it.