#BBB NEWS| Presidential Relief Package: Excess Crude Account Still Intact - Presidency

Reports in sections of the  media today that funds will be drawn from the Excess Crude Account for the relief package approved by President Muhammadu Buhari for  states and local governments, are incorrect.

For the purpose of greater clarity on the matter, the measures approved by President Buhari to deal with the problem of unpaid public sector salaries in many states are as follows:

*The sharing of the  $2.1 Billion dividend paid to the Federation Account by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG);

* A Central Bank-packaged special intervention fund that will offer financing to the states, ranging from  N250 Billion  to N300 Billion. This will be a soft loan available to states for the purposes of paying backlog of salaries; and

#BBB NEWS| Buhari Has Not Ordered Sale Of 9 Presidential Jets – Presidency

Contrary to reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered the immediate disposal of nine of the 11 VIP transport aircraft in the presidential fleet, the presidency on Friday denied knowledge of any such directive.

THISDAY newspaper had quoted unnamed sources as saying the president had directed the selling of serviceable and unserviceable aircrafts to cut maintenance costs in line with the government’s policy to drastically reduce its annual expenditure.

Eight of the planes in the fleet, including Boeing 737, two Gulfstream 550 jets, Gulfstream V jet, two Falcon 7X planes, the Hawker Siddeley aircraft and Augusta Westland chopper, the report said, are reserved strictly for the president’s movement.