DMO defends use of bailout to pay workers

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has justified the use of the bailout approved for the states by the Federal Government to pay salaries.
The Director-General of the DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, who spoke to our correspondent at an enlightenment workshop for civil society organisations in Enugu, said there was nothing wrong in the states using the facility to offset their workers’ salaries.
Nwankwo argued that workers are the most important factor in economic development, and as a result, must be taken care of, for the economy to grow.
Asked to respond to concerns that a large chunk of the bailout funds would go into recurrent expenditure and as a result, may not stimulate production, Nwankwo said, “Who will do the production if the worker is not doing his work because he has not been paid?
“If the worker is not doing his work, who will develop the economy? Who develops the economy? The economy is developed by the worker – the economy cannot develop itself.
“It is the Nigerian worker that develops and has been developing the economy. So the Nigerian worker deserves his pay, regularly and adequately.
“So if there is emphasis on paying workers salary, that is very crucial, that is the right thing to do, because it is the worker that is developing the economy.”
Continuing, Nwankwo said the state governments would make judicious use of the bailout funds.
Asked if the DMO was concerned that the funds would be mismanaged, he said, “Nigerian governments, whether federal or state, are responsible.”
“I am not aware that anything is going wrong in the bailout package that President Muhammadu Buhari has graciously approved,” Nwankwo added.
However, he stressed the need to urgently diversify the economy in order to address the country’s unhealthy dependence on crude oil as the most viable source of revenue.
Nwankwo noted that in diversifying the economy, emphasis should be placed on agriculture, solid minerals and petrochemicals. Punch