Be free to criticise the 2016 Budget- Presidency tells Nigerians

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the budget office to put up the draft copy of the 2016 budget on its website for Nigerians to freely access it.

This is even as the Federal government stated that under the Buhari’s administration, it will continue to welcome well-meaning criticism of its policies, its budget and expenditure because it is the only way the change promised the country will have a meaning.

The budget office had however put up a draft copy of the proposed 2016 appropriation on its website, after the fiasco that trailed the first copy of the budget submitted by the President on the 22nd of December last year.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, in reaction to a report in one of the dailies, said government had no reason whatsoever to mislead the citizens on the budget and on all other matters for whatever reason.

The National Assembly last week commence the ministry by ministry Defence of the 2016 appropriation, after it scaled the second reading.

The statement read: “It is on account of this, and in line with established tradition that the President directed that the draft 2016 appropriation budget, now before the National Assembly be put on the website of the budget office so that Nigerians can read it with a view to making their observations.

“In view of this, suggestions to the effect that the Presidency is misleading the public on any aspects of the budget can not therefore stand the test of time.

“In reaction to a newspaper story that said: “2016 Budget: Buhari to spend more on State House Clinic than on all federal govt-owned teaching hospitals,” the Budget Office supplied a summary of the allocations to the various sectors under the Ministry of Health, which showed clearly that the published story was inaccurate.

“The budget office has affirmed that in terms of both capital and recurrent allocations, the draft budget has put far more money in the 17 teaching hospitals than it did in the State House Clinic.

“Having said this, we are not by any stretch of imagination suggesting that the draft budget is beyond comments or reproach. Nor do we wish to dwell on this simply to make a point. To do that will drive away good citizens from pointing out needed corrections and, ultimately defeating the change mantra of the administration.

“The budget is a Nigerian budget and citizens reserve the right to examine its content and provide their own perspectives.

“As the draft goes through the approval process, this and many other aspects will continue to generate interest, criticism, commendation and sometimes condemnation in discussions in the parliament, the media and the court of public opinion. We believe that the process of “change” will be affected by, and stands to gain form these debates especially where there is good faith on all sides”.

Elizabeth Archibong