The Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) has revealed that its members are ready to commence payment of the N614 billion bailout funds which the Federal Government gave to some states during 2015 to 2017 financial crisis.
Chairman of the forum and governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi made this known in Abuja explaining that although the governors are ready to pay, this will happen only after accounts reconciliation with the Federal Government.
According to him, the reconciliation process is ongoing and states that are owing are eager to make repayments once the process is over.
“It’s a storm in a teacup when we read about governors refusing to pay. We don’t have such an issue. We are ready to pay.
“If you borrow, you pay. Governors have never been averse to payment of loans that we took under legal environment and we don’t want a situation that will put our financial system in jeopardy.
“Just as we are ready to pay, we also have a duty to ensure recompilation of accounts as far as money owed to states may be concerned,” he said.