FG, states’ non-payment of salary, national disgrace – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, lamented that the growing indebtedness of workers’ salaries by Federal and state governments constitutes a national disgrace.

He noted that he met an empty treasury and millions of dollars of outstanding debts, which compounded issues just as it posed pressures to realising targeted programmes.

President Buhari spoke while meeting with State House correspondents during his first day in office at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He was accompanied by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, and Senior Special Assistant Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu.

He said, “I hope we are starting and this culture of 100 days is bringing so much pressure with treasury virtually empty, with debts in millions of dollars, with state workers and even Federal workers not paid their salaries is such a disgrace for Nigeria.

“I think Nigeria should be in a position to even pay its workers; this bad management that we find ourselves in, we really need your help to protect us from people before they match on us.”

He solicited for balanced and accurate reporting of the activities of the administration to move the nation forward.

“It is not by accident that I got the best of you to be the special adviser, Femi Adesina, one of the 15 aides I had to get clearance from the Senate.

“He is one of the best president of the Guild that I can have as special adviser. I brought one of the best of you so that he can consistently defend me against you.

“Whether my job is a difficult one or easy is up to him, but I’m here to thank you in advance for what good and ill you are going to do to me.

“I have to quickly come and see you and welcome you to this place. I hope what happened of recent between the former president and one of you will not happen between me and you,” he said.

Earlier, the Chairman of the State House Correspondents, Kehinde Amodu, assured the President of balanced and fair reporting of the administration’s activities. [Mynewswatchtimesng]