BUDGET 2018: NUPENG vows showdown with NASS

The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) weekend, expressed displeasure over cutting of allocations worth N11.5 billion to critical infrastructure like roads in the 2018 national budget as alleged by the Presidency.

It has threatened a showdown with the federal legislators over the matter.

NUPENG in a statement in Abuja, argued that cutting allocations meant for crucial and very critical infrastructural projects with huge socio-economic impacts on national and regional roads like the Lagos-Ibadan expressway, second Niger Bridge, ancillary roads, East-West road, Bonny-Bodo road and others, to say the least, was unreasonable and insensitive to the yearning of the people .

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari, while addressing Nigerians after signing the 2018 Budget into law on Wednesday, had raised concerns over the removal of some critical projects in the budget by the National Assembly, pointing out that the assembly made cuts amounting to N347 billion in the allocations to 4,700 projects submitted to them for consideration and introduced 6,403 projects of their own amounting to N578 billion.

But, the National Assembly in its response said the figures were “unduly exaggerated” as it did not make substantial reduction of any project that would affect its implementation, noting that the reductions were made to reduce the funds in some areas in order to ensure balance and equity in the spread and utilization of the national funds.

Read also: 2018 BUDGET: Oil fortune killing Nigerian govt’s economic diversification plan

The lawmakers, however, said in contrast with the President’s claim that an aggregate of N11.5 billion was cut on the counterpart funding for the Mambilla Power Plant, Second Niger Bridge/Ancillary roads, the East-West Road, Bonny-Bodo Road, Lagos-Ibadan Express Road and Itakpe-Ajaokuta Rail Project, the projects were reduced by N3.96 billion to N218.61 billion which, it said, cannot negatively affect their implementation.

In the statement issued by NUPENG President, Prince Williams Akporeha, the union threatened that it might be forced to mobilise against members of the National Assembly if nothing was done to remedy the situation to make the nation’s highways motorable.

“We are still in shock that these critical trunk roads, which play significant roles, particularly in the value chain of the oil and gas downstream sector and other critical and crucial economic activities in the country would be expunged from the national budget at a time the union is craving for state of emergency on Nigerian roads.

“The union cannot afford to fold its hands whilst our hardworking and patriotic members’ lives are being carelessly and pitiably wasted on the highways as well as facing unimaginable hazards on the roads

“We hate to always raise concerns over road accidents involving our members as a result of deplorable conditions of nation’s road networks.

“It is also an open secret that the current nature of our roads is a real contributory factor to tanker accidents which we are experiencing virtually on daily basis; unfortunately the 2018 Appropriation Act which we thought could save us from this life threatening menace has again dashed our hope,” it said.

NUPENG urged all relevant stakeholders in government to urgently reconsider all projects affecting the oil and gas sector that were omitted from the budget in the interest of all Nigerians and also for the entrenchment and sustenance of industrial growth and development.
By Oluwasegun Olakoyenikan…

 

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