The recent proposal by state governors that federal workers aged 50 years and above should be retired prematurely and given a one-off retirement package to exit the public service is retrogressive. The insensitive suggestion, which smacks of selfishness, is equally unacceptable. No matter the envisaged benefits of the proposal, it is not the solution to the nation’s current economic crisis. Therefore, the bizarre advice is not worthy of any consideration by the government. Instead of sacking workers prematurely, the federal and state governments are enjoined to drastically reduce the cost of governance, adjudged one of the highest in the world.

The bloated salaries and allowances of political office holders and the extravagant “security votes” are some of the factors responsible for the present fiscal crisis at both federal and state levels. About 12,000 workers, aged 50 years and above, are believed to be in the payroll of the federal government. The Governors had in their advisory letter of August 8 to President Muhammadu Buhari stated that their recommendation was part of coordinated efforts to instill fiscal discipline and prevent the country from imminent economic collapse. According to them, the sacking of workers above 50 years, would save the Federal Government about N450billion in personnel cost.

This comes to N37.71 million on the average per federal employee. To replace the disengaged workers, the governors have recommended the employment of “lower-cost, more ICT- compliant youths and women graduates.” However, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has denied any involvement in the proposal by the state governors. The spokesman for the NGF, Mr. Abdulrazaq Bello- Barkindo, stated that the forum was unaware of the development.    

In the proposal, the governors also urged President Buhari to commence the implementation of the 2009 Stephen Oronsaye Report, which recommended, among other things, the scrapping of some government ministries and parastatals or the mergers of some of them that have duplicated functions to ensure efficiency and reduce the cost of governance.  Besides, the governors want the Federal Government to stop borrowing from the Central Bank for its expenditures.

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According to statistics, the Federal Government borrowed N19.3trillion from the CBN in seven years of Buhari’s administration, while NNPC’s debts to the federal government and states stood at N1.055 trillion in six months.  The government’s penchant for borrowing has tremendously increased the nation’s debt, put at N21.6 trillion.  Debt servicing currently takes over 90 per cent of total revenue, and is expected to reach N10.43trillion by 2025, according to the 2023-2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Report. The 182.66 per cent increase from the N3.69trillion budgeted for debt service in the current financial year is unsustainable and should be addressed urgently to avoid the looming debt crisis. The rising personnel cost at federal and state levels has not helped matters. According to information from the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the personnel cost of the federal government has risen by 79.6 per cent from N1.869trillion in 2015 to N3.36trillion in 2022. In the first quarter (Q1’2022), government realised N3.12trillion, while expenditure within same period stood at N4.72trillion, resulting in a deficit of N1.63trillion. Nigeria’s debt servicing bill increased by 109 per cent from N429billion in December 2021 to N896billion in March 2022.   

The organised labour’s position that the recommendation of the state governors cannot solve the nation’s present economic crisis is in order. The governors’ advice contradicts the Federal Government’s promise to create jobs and reduce poverty. Any attempt to sack workers at the federal and state levels will worsen the nation’s poverty rate and even fuel crisis across the country. In the first place, how will the government source the required funding to pay off the retired workers?

In fact, if the governors are convinced that sacking workers, who are 50 years and above, is the solution to the nation’s economic crisis, it can as well start with political office holders who are above 50 years. That many state governments are financially distressed is not in doubt. Their over-dependence on monthly federal allocation is due to their lack of creativity to look inwards and grow their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). According to the National Bureau of Statistics data, only six states are solvent, while the rest cannot survive without the monthly allocation from Abuja. As of March 2022, the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are indebted to the tune of N4.84trillion.  It has become obvious that some government ministries and parastatals are performing almost the same functions, and are overdue for either merger or scrapping. But it does not warrant the sacking of workers above 50 years.

Rather than take this seemingly easy way out, the state governments should look inwards on how to broaden their revenue base.  Let the government take urgent steps to revive the manufacturing sector. Enhanced power supply and provision of adequate security will boost production in the industries.