Senators write off budget projections as unrealistic

Senators on Wednesday came hard on President Muhammadu Buhari over what they described as the unrealistic projections made in the 2017 budget.

The lawmakers who took their turns to speak during the consideration of the budget said it may be impossible for the Federal Government to get the projected borrowings to fund the budget, maintaining that similar projections which were made in 2016 did not come to fruition.

President Buhari on December 14th, 2016, presented a N7.298 trillion budget to a joint session of the National Assembly. Tagged ‘budget of recovery’, President Buhari said his government was making more funds available for critical sectors of the economy.

Senator Albert Bassey Akpan, who chairs the Senate committee on Gas, decried the borrowing plan of the Federal Government. He revealed that the deficit in the budget is the same as the amount budgeted for capital projects.

He said: “The deficit in the budget is the same amount with the money budgeted for capital projects. There will be a challenge in getting the money to fund most of the capital projects in the 2017 budget.

“The administration of our foreign exchange policy will affect the 2017 budget. There should be a correlation between the fiscal and monetary policies. We should also look at the issue of fuel importation in the country. The cost of landing cost is about N165. That means that NNPC is operating at a loss.”

Senator Gbenga Ashafa from Lagos State, while contributing, urged his colleagues to examine the performance of the 2016 budget before they give nod to the passage of the 2017 budget.

Read also: FG releases N72bn for Lagos-Ibadan rail project

Senator Ashafa also called on President Buhari to disclose how much has been recovered so far from looters. He said such a disclosure will give Nigerians the clue as to what is happening in the country.

He said: “We must endeavour to compare the performance of the 2016 budget to what has been presented in the 2017 budget. It behoves on President Muhammadu Buhari to expose to Nigerians how much funds we have recovered from looters. We cannot condemn all the things the Federal Government has done.”

Senator Shehu Sani from Kaduna State urged the Senate to scale down the defence budget. He argued that since the insurgency has been significantly reduced, there was need to divert defence funds to other sectors of the economy.

He said: “We have been told that the insurgency has been reduced. We need to therefore see a scaled-down on defence budget. Money for that area should be channeled to other areas of the economy.”

Senator Aliyu Wammako, a former governor of Sokoto State, said the budget failed to address the issue of diversification of the economy. “The issue of diversification has not been adequately addressed in this budget. We have agriculture and solid mineral sectors. They have not been addressed well,” he added.

Senator Philip Aduda who represents the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) decried what he described as the paltry sum budgeted for the nation’s capital.

Aduda argued: “What we have for FCT is about N37 billion in the 2017 budget. What do they expect us to do with the money? Is it to pay contractors who have executed their projects or what? The money is too small to cater for the needs of FCT.”

Senator Barau Jibrin, who heads the Tertiary Education committee, said the money budgeted for the sector is inadequate, adding that it is far below the internationally-recognized benchmark.

“The projected revenues that will be used to fund budget will come from oil. Their expectations are high. But I urge the Federal Government to work harder if they must achieve this projections. I want to point out the poor allocation given to the education sector. It is far below what has been recommended internationally. It is inadequate for a country like Nigeria,” he said.

During the debate, President Buhari’s medical vacation in the United Kingdom (UK), also took centre stage. Senator Mao Ohuabunwa who spoke on the issue, argued that rather than embark on medical tourism to foreign countries, the Federal Government should budget more funds for the health sector.

Senator Ohuabunwa advised: “A lot is being expected of us as Senators. We are leaving our country to go on medical vacation. These countries we go to have spent so much to put their health sector in place. Unfortunately, what we have for the health sector is a far cry from what it should be.

“It is not about allocating. What about implementation? What is the level of implementation of the 2016 budget? We need to emphasize the issue of budget implementation before we approve the 2017 budget. The government should be talking about creating entrepreneurship centres in all the 774 local government areas in the country if we want to create jobs.”

Senator Dino Melaye, chairman of the Senate committee on FCT, described Buhari’s government as visionless. He compared President Buhari’s government with previous governments and declared that it is yet to set a clear agenda.

Melaye noted: “The borrowings they intend to make will be spent on recurrent expenditures. No government anywhere in the world borrows to spend on payment of salaries. But this government intends to do that. Where there is no vision, the people perish. If we do not plan, we will fail.

“It is time for this government to develop an agenda. The government of Shehu Shagari built estates in all the states of the federation. Sani Abacha developed the Vision 2010. Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Goodluck Jonathan all had their agenda. What is the agenda of this current government? We need to define one.”

Senator John Enoh from Cross River State and chairman of Senate committee on Finance, urged President Buhari to sustain the ongoing peace efforts in the Niger Delta region if enough funds must be generated from oil to fund the budget.

Deputy Minority Whip of the Senate who hails from Ekiti State, Biodun Olujimi, said the budget failed to address how the country will be taken out of its current economic recession.

Senator Solomon Adeola from Lagos State, queried the non-disclosure of excess money realized from the sale of crude oil. He said since the 2016 budget was predicted on an oil benchmark of $38, the Federal Government needs to tell Nigerians how much it has realized from the excess money made.

The lawmaker said: “We started with a budget of change and now we have a budget of recovery. I do not know how we went from change to this level. Our oil benchmark for 2016 was $38 per barrel. We need to ask the Federal Government the savings they have made from the excesses? I have gone through the budget and the savings made from the excesses were not reflected.”

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now