When the Senate passed a resolution in September 2011 that some states were financially distressed while others faced acute state of bankruptcy, it was dismissed in some quarters as a needless move capable of misleading the nation.

However, the recent distress call by All Progressives Congress (APC) governors on the president-elect, General Muhamadu Buhari, in Abuja for bail-out appeared to have turned the upper legislative chamber into a soothsayer of sort.

The Senate had on October 27, debated extensively the financial state of 36 states of the federation following the earlier presentation of a research result conducted on the status of 36 states of the federation by the Nigerian Governors' Forum (NGF). The NGF research output provided the Senate with the platform for a further and more detailed research which resulted in a motion entitled: "Looming Danger of Bankruptcy in States: The Need for Fiscal Evaluation," by Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi (Ekiti North).

The motion drew the attention of the Senate to what the mover described as a great fiscal challenge and looming danger of insolvency and bankruptcy confronting the states. This looming danger, Adetunmbi said, was attributable to the fresh take-off of a new minimum wage at the time and the attendant consequence of a recurrent expenditure of the states.

Adetunmbi, who lost a return bid to the Senate in March, proceeded to highlight the financial status of each of the states of the federation as he classified the 36 states into different categories depending on what he described as his findings on their fiscal states. Hence, the motion classified some states as distressed; others as critical; some as unhealthy; another group as tolerable and the last set as healthy.

According to him, six states whose personnel expenditure ranged between 50 and 126 per cent were already witnessing a financial distress. States in this category with their distress rating were Kano (126 per cent), Sokoto (62 per cent), Niger (56 percent), Zamfara (54 per cent), Katsina (50 per cent) and Osun 50 per cent.

In the same vein, states in their critical conditions, according to the motion, were Ekiti (48 per cent); Plateau (44 per cent); Benue (42 per cent); Edo (42 per cent); Borno (41 per cent); Adamawa (40 per cent) and Cross River (39 per cent). Other states said to be in critical state were Enugu (39 per cent); Taraba (38 per cent); Ogun (37 per cent); Kogi (32 per cent); Yobe (32 per cent); Ebonyi (31 per cent); Ondo (31 per cent) and Kaduna (30 per cent).

The senator listed six states to be unhealthy. These were Oyo (27 per cent); Bauchi (26 per cent); Bayelsa (24 per cent); Nasarawa (24 per cent); Gombe (23 per cent) and Rivers (20 per cent).

On the other hand, he said the fiscal status of five states were tolerable. They were Imo (19 per cent); Kwara (18 per cent); Lagos (18 per cent); Kebbi (16 per cent) and Delta (15 per cent).

However, he gave a clean bill of health to only four states which he said had a healthy financial status. Those in this category were Abia (14 per cent); Akwa Ibom (12 per cent); Anambra (12 per cent) and Jigawa (6 per cent).

The senator expressed concern "that most of the state governments rushed to the capital market to raise bonds to finance development projects with an appropriate framework. The misuse of such funds could spell doom for the future of the states." He listed some state governments that had resorted to taking bonds between 2002 and 2011 to include Lagos (series 1 - N50 billion; series 2, N57.5 billion); Imo (N18.5 billion; Kwara (N17 billion); Niger (N6 billion); Bayelsa (N50 billion); Kaduna (N8.5 billion); Ebonyi (N16.5 billion); Ogun (N50 billion); Delta (N5 billion); Kebbi (N3.5 billion) and Lagos again (N15 billion).

Adetumbi, in the motion, raised certain fundamental issues which included the call for an urgent review of revenue sharing formula among the three tiers of government; decentralisation of labour and wages legislation; rural-urban drift caused by infrastructural deficit as well as the threat to peace caused by dwindling available resources.

"The financial quagmire of states further highlights the urgency of a review of the revenue sharing structure between the federal, states and local government areas. The continued centralisation of labour and wages' legislation without a reference to resource endowment of states is antithetical to the basis of true federalism in Nigeria. Such unitarian policies are unhealthy to the development of a competitive labour market in states.

"Infrastructural deficit and shortage of jobs in the states have led to massive migration of youths into key cities. This has further exacerbated the pressure on urban infrastructure and social services with attendant slum growth, urban unemployment and worsening crime rate.

"The state and local government areas are the places of domicile and points of service delivery of dividends of democracy to the people. Therefore, a progressive dwindling of resource availability for essential services constitutes a threat to peace and security," he stated.

After an exhaustive debate on the issue, the Senate mandated its committees on appropriation and finance to further study the situation and offer remedial measures with a view to avoiding a total collapse of the economies of the states.

It also directed the federal Ministry of Finance to consider the establishment of a state economy stabilisation fund in line with the provision of Section 164(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) which states that "the federation may make grants to a state to supplement the revenue of the state in such sum and subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the National Assembly."

The parliament also implored the federal Ministry of Trade and Investment to work with the states to develop and implement policies and programmes on how to promote and generate economic growth and employment in affected states. It as well advised the federal government to expeditiously review the revenue formula in favour of states and local government areas in the spirit of a true federation.

The motion generated wild anger in the polity with some of the state governments resorting to name calling. They did not only deny any sign of distress or bankruptcy in their states but also described concerns raised in the motion as baseless and mischievous.

It did not dawn on many at the time that the alarm raised in the Senate was a time bomb that was only waiting to explode. Hence, as it is customary of Nigerians to dismiss or trivialise supposedly serious issues, no cognisance was paid to it neither was any investigation that could nip the matter in the bud undertaken.

Even the Senate itself went to sleep after passing notable resolutions as it failed to follow up these resolutions with a view to averting the time bomb until the bubble eventually burst. On May 5, 2015, governors who should have explored the output of NGF research as well as the alarm raised by the Senate to embark on moves that could help their states overcome imminent bankruptcy ran to Abuja cap-in-hands.

When the motion was moved four years earlier, most of the states could still pay salaries. Therefore, they dismissed it as nothing but a false alarm because they were allegedly ignorant that they were sitting on a time bomb.

Today, many states are suffering economic kwashiorkor embedded in malignant elements that now forge the piteous fate of citizens in various states. Thus, the hitherto meager civil servants' salaries that were insufficient to meet their family needs are now difficult to come by as many states now grapple with inability to offset a catalogue of unpaid salary arrears. This has resulted in regular protests in some of these states, notably Osun.

The frustration of civil servants in affected states led to protest votes during the last elections as some of the governors, who could not pay salaries had their candidates voted out by frustrated citizens in dire search for change of fortune.

But can that decision reverse their pains? It is left to be seen as some will argue that as commendable as the courage of such citizens to vote out unproductive governors were, the action may yet amount to overlooking leprosy while curing a ring worm.

This is because the real cause of the bankruptcy and possible solutions as highlighted in Senate's motion has not been addressed. The worrisome trend, as independent observers would argue, would require the engagement of competent hands by the Buhari government to address this menace.

As at the last count, states that have been unable to pay salaries from six months and below are Benue, Rivers, Osun, Plateau, Kogi, Oyo and Ogun, among others.

Following their inability to turn various resources in their states to wealth, APC governors on May 5, asked Buhari to spoon-feed them when he assumes office as the president of Nigeria. Led by the Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, the governors ran to Abuja to narrate their plights to the president-elect.

According to them, their state economies were in precarious conditions. Therefore, they said they needed urgent bail-out from the incoming administration of Buhari. They also alleged that the federal government was culpable in the crisis because it had been unable to pay the April salary at the time.

Hear Okorocha: "One of the issues that became of concern to all of us is the state of the Nigerian economy, which is really in a bad shape. We have come to notify the incoming president of the challenges ahead of him.

"As it stands today, most states of the federation have not been able to pay salaries and even the federal government has not paid April salaries and that is very worrisome. By May and June, the unpaid salaries will be in cumulative of three months.

"We wonder with the huge expectation from Nigerians and people who have voted us into power, we are hoping that the president-elect will do all the things that are humanly possible to bring about a bailout not only for the states but the federal government, at least for people to get their salaries and turn around the economy.

"We have seen the reason to work together and support Mr. President and we have also called on all our brothers in other political parties to come along with us to build the Nigeria of our dream," Okorocha explained.

In a nutshell, the incoming administration of Buhari has been advised by experts to immediately put on its thinking cap by avoiding the pitfalls of the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, which has been accused at various fora of trivialising important issues and hiring people indiscriminately without the track records of their abilities to proffer solutions to the lingering problems.