The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has appealed to the Federal Government to assist states owing their workers to defray the salary arrears.
The Director of Publicity, Research and Strategy of the APC in the state, Mr. Kunle Oyatomi, who said this in a statement made available to our correspondent in Osogbo on Wednesday said the FG should help the states even if they have to source for fund from the external reserves.
The party said states appreciated the bailout given to them last year by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, but stressed that they needed another bailout from the FG to save them from the salary crisis.
The statement read, “We are therefore appealing to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government to help the affected states out of this crisis.
“We are approaching an emergency on this crisis, because not only is the crisis spreading like wild fire across states, it is assuming a dimension that would seriously affect the economy of the country.
“To avoid an emergency that could create difficulties for the economy in the next decade, the Federal Government must address the problem now, even if it means having recourse to our reserves.
“What was cynically thought to be an Osun problem is now suddenly a national emergency which the Federal Government can not afford to ignore.
“We cannot play the ostrich in a situation as critical as this.
“Those politicians who only few months ago were mocking the state of Osun and cynically offering their salaries to pay workers in Osun have suddenly become quiet now that their own states are owing between 6 and 10 months’ salaries, especially in Bayelsa.”
The APC further stressed that the salary crisis was a critical factor in the economic stagnation which Nigeria was experiencing currently.
