1.
Lagos-Calabar N60 billion coastal railway removed.
2.
Idu-Kaduna rail line cut by N8.7 billion.
3.
Major federal roads slashed.
4.
Polio eradication, essential drugs for HIV/AIDS expunged.
5.
Agric/water resources re-allocated to constituency projects.
President
Muhammadu Buhari appears set to return the 2016 Budget to the National Assembly
to rework because what the lawmakers sent to him on Thursday (7/4/2016) for
assent, according to Presidency sources, fell below his expectations. By
implication, Buhari will not sign the Appropriation Bill into law, as earlier
planned, before jetting out of the country this weekend to China for economic
and business deals for Nigeria.
The
sources confirmed to Sunday Vanguard that the President felt disappointed that
provisions for major national projects and programmes that could turn around
the economy were either outrightly removed or funds for them ridiculously
slashed by the lawmakers.
It
will be recalled that, in a bid to urgently assent to the bill, which was
transmitted to him on Thursday, the Presidency had convened an emergency
Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Friday where the document was
distributed to Ministers to review as it affected their respective ministries,
departments and agencies. At the review meeting presided over by Vice President
Yemi Osinbajo, who is the Head of the Economic Team, it was discovered that
many strategic projects were either removed or provisions made for them significantly
slashed to the point that made a mockery of the projects.
Among
the key projects removed from the budget by the lawmakers are the all-important
Calabar-Lagos coastal rail line for which Buhari had made a provision of N60
billion in the 2016 estimates. Incidentally, the railway project is one of the
key issues taking Buhari to China. While that was removed, the lawmakers left
the Kano/Lagos railway project untouched but also went ahead to reduce the
amount set aside for the completion of the Idu/Kaduna railway project, which
has reached an advanced stage of completion, by N8.7 billion.
A
top government official, who was privy to the fiscal document, summed the
discoveries in the budget that shocked Buhari this way: “At the meeting, it was
noticed that some very key aspects of the budget, which have to do with
government’s core infrastructural focus, were removed. One of the projects is
the subject of the President’s trip to China – the Lagos/ Calabar coastal
railway project – for which a counterpart funding of N60bn was provided, but
which was completely removed by the National Assembly.
“The
executive is working on two major rail arteries, among other rail projects, to
service the northern and eastern parts of the country – the Lagos/Kano line and
the Calabar/Lagos line. While the Lagos-Kano provision was left untouched, the
Calabar/ Lagos line was removed. The projects are to be funded jointly by
governments of China and Nigeria. It is one of the main reasons for the
President’s scheduled trip to China.
“Also,
the amount proposed for the completion of the Idu/Kaduna rail project which has
reached an advanced stage, was reduced by N8.7bn, a development which will make
it difficult for the project to be completed”.
The
source added that another fundamental area noticed in the document was the
completion of on-going road projects. It was learnt that while the executive
had provided for the completion of all major road projects across the country,
the National Assembly reduced the amounts provided and instead included new
roads which studies have not even been conducted.
The
source lamented: “The amounts provided by the National Assembly for the
projects can neither complete the on-going road projects nor the new ones
proposed. At the end of the year, no progress would have been made”.
According
to the source, a top Presidency official, allocations for the purchase of
essential drugs for major health campaigns like polio and AIDS for which the
store is fast depleting, were removed and the amounts allocated to provision of
ambulance, which the health ministry did not ask for.
“It
was also observed that certain provisions made in the areas of agriculture and
water resources to further the Federal Government’s diversification project
were either removed or reduced while the funds were moved to provisions of
rural health facilities and boreholes, for which provisions have been made
elsewhere,” the official said.
“The
President is desirous of signing the Bill into law so that implementation of
the provisions could begin in earnest for the benefit of the people. That is
why the moment he received the document on Thursday, a meeting was convened for
Friday to immediately start work on it”, the source concluded.
CUPS
Remarks: Yesterday
(9/4/2016), the CUPS organisation published an article written by an anonymous
insider at the NASS, who happened to be privy to the scams embedded into the
2016 budget by the NASS. The whistle-blower urged the President never to sign
the budget into law until every line is analysed and understood, and every
financial allocation is scrutinised and accounted for.
In
less than 24 hours after the publication of that anonymous article by CUPS,
today's damning revelation by Vanguard confirms the suspicion and alarm raised
by the NASS whistle-blower.
While
our economy is in stalemate, Nigerian masses are immensely suffering - with
many almost bleeding to death due to abject poverty as a result of the delay in
the implementation of the 2016 budget, yet we see that the enemies of the
Nigerian state at the NASS, especially in the Senate, are still hell bent on
corrupting the 2016 budget, for their selfish gains.
Without
shadow of a doubt, the NASS takes full responsibility for our suffering. Now we
understand why Bokola Saraki won't resign. This arrogant criminal gangster is
the mastermind behind the latest budget scam. Unless we the masses occupy the
Senate to boot this Mafia don out, we will forever remain hostage to his
criminal machinations against the Nigerian state.
May
God save Nigeria and Nigerians. Amen.
Source: Vanguard
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