(ABUJA)
Contrary to earlier promises made by Senators of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the party caucus will not move against President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2016 budget, lawmakers yesterday vehemently kicked against certain provisions of the corrected version of the budget.
Trouble started when the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume opened the debate on the budget, which commenced at about 11am.
The first blow came soon after Ndume concluded his remarks. Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South), led the offensive against the budget when he carried out a comparative analysis of former president Goodluck Jonathan’s 2015 budget and Buhari’s 2016 budget.
In his damming verdict, Abaribe said though it is captioned ‘Budget of Change’, it is a change in the wrong direction. He criticized plans by the federal government to borrow almost 30 per cent to fund the budget.
Abaribe noted: “I am going to quote copiously from the Senate Leader. In page four he said this budget is unique and titled ‘Budget of Change’. Mr President, my colleagues, this budget is indeed unique, the first budget that has ever been sent out to the public of Nigeria and after the budget presentation, the Finance Minister has never come to explain the details of the budget as it is normally done.
“It is a budget of change I agree, but it is a change in the wrong direction… because it says that it is based on zero budgeting, requiring all expenses to be fully justified.
“Mr. President, a budget that increases spending up to 30 per cent based solely on borrowing, in what way is it justified? That is the question we want to ask the people who brought this budget as ‘change’. We ask a question: this budget has moved the 2015 budget from 4.45 trillion to N6 trillion and we felt that moving it on zero based budgeting should actually show how it is done.
“Of course, we get nothing. All we get is that we are going to borrow. Mr. President, a budget that moves domestic spending within Aso Villa from N580 million to N1.7 billion cannot be a budget of change. We were told that in the revised budget, there was an adjustment due to error. We agree, but what has happened is that the money up to N7 billion was moved from buying vehicles to being spread in offices.
“It also increases the spending that is due for renovations within the Villa. They are going to renovate the Villa with N3.9 billion. What else do you want to renovate there that Nigerians will see in the year 2016? We know what is going on in the global economy. This budget is predicated on an oil benchmark of $38 per barrel and I can now say that with oil being $28 today, this budget is dead on arrival.
“The job of the opposition is to help the government to get its priorities right so I want to please urge this government to withdraw this budget and go back to the drawing board.”
Senate committee chairman on Defence, Ahmad Lawan, while defending the budget, blamed the PDP for the nation’s woes. He said, unlike in the past, President Buhari’s budget seeks to put the interest of Nigerians first.
He was countered by the Senate Minority Whip, Philip Aduda. He said: “Something needs to be done. Enough of these rhetoric. Let us put party sentiments aside. The government should put up a strong economic team to come with what we should do. The price of crude oil has fallen to $27 per barrel. Iran has joined the international market and that is not good for our country. PDP should not be blamed for the dwindling price of crude oil.”
Another All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator from Osun state, Babajide Omowurare, took sides with the position of other lawmakers who spoke in favour of the budget.
“For the first time, the budget is not focusing on sharing the national cake, but how to bake it. This is the finest budget I have seen since I joined the National Assembly. We are where we are now because we did not make hay while the sun was shining. There was so much corruption and impunity in the past during the PDP-led government,” he said.
The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, while aligning with the position of Abaribe and other PDP lawmakers, urged the Senate to reduce the budget by at least 20 per cent to conform with global economic realities.
He said: “I am not an economist but I know that if my income is N100,000 and suddenly I start earning N30,000 and I tell my children that we will now be spending N120,000, they will start wondering where I will get the money.
“The problem we have is that over the years we have seen prosperity and we have adjusted to it and now we are seeing a downward trend in our revenue, we do not seem to be addressing this issue.
“We have always increased the budget of this country from between 10 and 20 per cent, I just want to appeal that for the first time we should be able to reduce that budget by the same 20 to 30 per cent.
“I am aware that during the great recession in America they had to inflate the economy by doing more projects. We are in recession whether we like it or not.
“They did not go to borrow money, people had to make sacrifices so I appeal that instead of financing in deficit through borrowing and mortgaging the future, we need to look inwards and raise the money.
“I believe that as we look at the spending side, we have to look at the revenue side. We have not been creative enough to raise money to run this country.
“In many countries they have the communication tax law which ensures that everybody that makes a call or sends a message pays tax to government.
“But in Nigeria, from bus stops to schools to hospitals to the markets, Nigerians are on the phone every minute of the day and nobody is paying tax on it.
“If we pay tax on it we do not need to go and get any loan from anywhere, we will have enough money to finance this budget.
“My consolation is that, this parliament has the final say on this budget. So I will like to appeal to my colleagues to look at this budget critically. I will be really worried if we are able to pass the budget the way it is.”
Ekweremadu faulted what he described as the unfair spread of projects in the country. “I am also worried about the spread, the equity in some of the figures: I hope our colleagues will do the right thing.
“Look at the Kano-Maiduguri Expressway what you have is N10 billion, the Enugu-Portharcourt N10 billion, Enugu Onitsha N3 billion but Lagos – Ibadan has N55 billion.”
(Fred Itua, SUN NEWS ONLINE)