The 2016 budget has suffered yet another setback as the President, Muhammadu Buhari is reported set to return the document forwarded to him on Thursday to the National Assembly.
According to source close to the Presidency, the 2016 budget documents sent by the National Assembly to the President on Thursday fell below the President’s expectations as major national projects and programmes planned towards turning the Nigerian economy around were either removed or funds allocated to them slashed by the Lawmakers.
By implication, against the earlier schedule, the President will not be signing the Appropriation Bill into law before he jets out on his trip to China.
Recall that an emergency session of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, was convened on Friday with the President in absentia and the Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo presiding over the council meeting which was convened with the aim to discuss the budget documents forwarded by the National Assembly.
It was however discovered during the meeting after copies of the documents were distributed to Ministers for review that many strategic projects were either removed or provisions made for them significantly slashed to the point that made a mockery of the projects.
One of the affected projects which had been removed from the document sent to the presidency is the all-important N60 billion Calabar-Lagos coastal rail line, an important constituent of Buhari’s visit to China.
The Lawmakers also slashed the earmarked fund for the Kano/Lagos railway project and Idu/Kaduna railway project.
Speaking on the shock the Presidency received as a result of the missing key projects, a top government official said:
“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 the National Assembly also reduced amounts allocated to completion of on-going Road projects in the country.
“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”. He added.
The source further noted that: “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 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”
Herald
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