Presidency Friday insisted that cuts in the provisions made to fund critical national infrastructure projects diverted to funding constituency projects has distorted the 2018 budget making implementation difficult.
This was contained in a reaction to the National Assembly’s position on the 2018 budget detailing their response to observations raised by President Muhammadu Buhari, while signing the 2018 Appropriation BIll into law.
In a statement signed by the Presidential Spokesman, Femi Adesina, Presidency said the “Executive was surprised that with an additional sum of N170 billion available for the National Assembly to spend on Constituency Projects, together with the sum of N100 billion Naira, already provided for in the Budget, the National Assembly should feel it necessary to cut allocations to important national projects, and thereby distort the Budget, in order to further increase their allocation for Constituency projects”
It therefore queried “ How much is enough!”
According to Adesina, “ The President’s position is clear from paragraph 12k of the President’s speech, where he said “About 70 new road projects have been inserted into the budget of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing”
“In doing so, the National Assembly applied some of the additional funds expected from the upward review of the oil price benchmark to the Ministry’s vote.
“Regrettably, however, in order to make provision for some of the new roads, the amounts allocated to some strategic major roads have been cut by the National Assembly”.
The statement noted further that the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, was in touch with the National Assembly, throughout the budget consideration process
“ The executive was approached by the National Assembly who indicated that they intended to increase the benchmark price by US$5, from US$45 to US$50. Out of the US$5 increase the National Assembly informed the Executive that they intended to utilize US$2 (amounting to about N170 billion) for projects selected by themselves. They asked the Executive to suggest important projects that could be accommodated with the funds arising from the balance of US$3.
“After some consideration, the Executive was of the view that an increase in the benchmark price of crude oil to US$50 was not unrealistic and the President decided to accept this in the spirit of compromise required for a successful budget exercise. The Executive had, in that spirit, suggested that from the additional funds arising out of the US$3 increase, $1.25 from the increase should not be appropriated as expenditure, but utilized to reduce the deficit in the budget.
“The Executive therefore restricted itself to submitting, for the consideration of the National Assembly, important items that could be funded from US$1.75 of the US$3 increase. NASS eventually raised the benchmark price to US$51, apparently to accommodate the additional allocations to Health and NDDC.
In a related development, President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday assured internally displaced persons, IDPs, that his administration will leave no stone unturned in restoring their devastated communities for their immediate and safe return.
While congratulating the 2,000 IDPs at the Kuchingoro Camp, in the Federal Capital Territory who are getting set to return to their communities in the Northeast, the President assured all Nigerians that his administration will not forget citizens in their time of distress and will continue to work for the betterment and security of the people.
The President spoke through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who received the IDPs at the precincts of the Aso Rock Villa on his behalf.
President Buhari also used the opportunity to thank members of the international community and Nigerians, including Aliko Dangote, General T.Y Danjuma and other philanthropists, for their sustained efforts towards the reconstruction and rehabilitation of destroyed communities in the Northeast.
. Maryam Nuhu, the leader of the IDPs, who were mainly women and children, thanked the Buhari Administration for the defeat of the Boko Haram terrorists and the ongoing reconstruction of their communities.
“Our towns and villages have been cleared of these terrorists. We can now confidently return home and pick up our lives from the points where we will meet them. Mr President, thanks for making this possible for us to be returning home. Our sad story took a turn for the better because of the calibre of military leaders you appointed,” she said.
