•Presidency to spend N28bn on SUVs, renovation of quarters, others
By Chinelo Obogo and Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Nigerians have knocked President Bola Tinubu over his letter to the National Assembly seeking approval to borrow $7 billion and €100 million to fund the supplementary appropriation bill of N2,176,791,286,033.
Tinubu, in a letter addressed to Senate President, Godswill Akpabio and read at plenary, yesterday, said the past administration had approved the 2022-2024 borrowing plan at the Federal Executive council on May 15.
He said: “Following the removal of fuel subsidies and its impact on the economy in the country,Africa Development Bank (AFDB) and World Bank Group have indicated interest to assist the country in mitigating the economic shocks, and its recent reforms.
“While the AFDB will assist the country with the sum of $1 billion dollars, the World Bank will give $2 billion dollars in addition to the Federal Executive council approved 2023-2024 external borrowing plan.”
Tinubu said the projects to be utilised with the funds cut across all sectors with specific emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, security and employment generation and financial management reforms.
He said the projects and programmes were selected based on technical economic evaluation and its expected contribution to the social economic development of the country.
He listed the areas to include employment generation, skills acquisition , supporting the emergence of more entrepreneurs, poverty reduction and food security to improve the livelihood of an average Nigerian.
He said the projects and programmes would be implemented in all 36 states of the Federation, and the FCT.
“In view of the economic realities facing the country, it has become imperative that the country resort to prudent external borrowing to breach the financing gap which will be applied to key infrastructure projects including power , railway , health amongst others , given the nature of these facilities. In a quest to bring the country to normalcy, it has become exigent to request the senate consideration and approval of the 2022 -2024 external borrowing plan to enable the government deliver it’s responsibility to Nigerians through expeditious disbursement and efficient project implementation.”
•Budget for yacht, first lady’s office, others wasteful
But reacting, financial expert, Kalu Aja, took to social media to criticise the President, saying, Nigeria has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.
“I had my doubts about the budget minister from the day he was given this very sensitive and important position. In what world does a nation seeking Wall Street and possibly an IMF bridge loan buy a $5m presidential yacht? This is an institutional embarrassment
“The cars for the “Office of First Lady” are 30 per cent of the student loan allocation for all students across Nigeria that qualify. Explain this to me, please. The worst part? Nigeria will borrow the N5 billion to buy that presidential yacht.
“Instead of doing line by line due diligence on the 2023 appropriation budget, you were singing in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting like children. Jokers. Your total revenues can’t pay your salaries or debt, yet you are buying a yacht. To impress who? An absolute joke. This is the muppet show. As it stands, PMS subsidy removed, SUV subsidy untouched.
“A nation that is allegedly borrowing $10b to repay debt is still buying luxury SUVs as if it has reserves. The presidency spends billions on luxurious cars. The National Assembly spends billions on luxurious cars. Nigerian citizens pay billions in taxes. Nigerian citizens defend the Presidency and legislators as their wages get inflated away.”
•You’ll love wickedness
Another commentator, Elnathan John, said: “The removal of fuel subsidy was only a removal of subsidy for poor people. Nigerian politicians, their lifestyles, boyfriends, girlfriends, side chics are still fully subsidised,” while Omotayo Williams wrote: “Tinubu budgets N5 billion for presidential yacht, N5.5 billion for student loan. Tinubu and his APC people are enjoying themselves, while Nigerians have been asked to endure.”
Spotlight Abby said, “Peter Obi would never have been this wasteful, wicked and unfeeling. After destroying people’s livelihoods, their only focus is how to buy more cars, decorate more houses and divert state funds to build their personal structures.
“Cars for First Lady to gulp N1.5 billion, conversion of EFCC forfeited apartments to gulp N3 billion. What cars were they driving before? Is the Lagos State government not buying them new cars every other year?”
Another user, Nonso said: “You are paying 600 Naira for a liter of fuel so that the Tinubus can afford a yacht, a fleet of brand new cars and other amenities. But the best part is that they don’t even have to worry about the optics because you are using your 4% battery life to tweet “subsidy had to go.”
Okoye Akijawo said, “$5.5m for student loans— the whole of Nigerian students, then, $5m for the presidential yacht. You will love wickedness,” while another user, King Arthur, said, “To be fair, the Navy has included that yacht as a line item every year since 2010 apparently and no president has funded it. It should be expunged. My point is that every prior government left it in but refused to fund it. No one took it out. It’s the weird thing about our budget system, things that nobody intends to fund, make it into the budget and are left there “just in case”, then everything in the last budget is recycled.”
Another user, Imoh Umoren, wrote, “One of the poorest countries in the world (currently) having a budget for a presidential yacht? The clouds you see over Nigeria are made from cocaine dust. It will be unfair for regular folk to go to the same afterlife as Nigerian politicians.”
•Bogus, disturbing – CISLAC
Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), in a statement by Executive Director of Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, regretted that despite the nation’s vulnerable financial situation, the Federal Government has continued its inclination towards extravagance, opulence, and a lack of efficiency in its second 2023 Supplementary budget.
“There is a troubling trend of upholding the luxurious lifestyles of public officials at the cost of the public, while the country grapples with widespread poverty and high levels of unemployment. This behaviour has become a well-established practice among successive administrations in the Fourth Republic, as they persistently fail to curtail expenses or cut back on their extravagant way of life funded by the public, even in the face of persistent economic challenges, recessions, revenue shortfalls, rising joblessness, and mounting debt.
“Supplementary budgets are meant to take care of expenditure that was not factored in during budget-making. While the National Assembly had recently passed, and signed, a Supplementary Appropriation Act 2023 for over N819 billion, a second supplementary budget was conceived in response to the impact of the petrol subsidy removal for further provision of additional palliative measures, including the wage award for public servants and the enhanced cash transfer programme, which was intended to benefit the most vulnerable members of our society.
“However, this has become a “Trojan horse” for wasteful, suspicious and unnecessary expenditure on frivolous items, including N18 billion to the Independent National Electoral Commission for conducting off-cycle governorship elections in Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo States on November 11, 2023.
“It is worthy to note that this had already been covered in the 2023 budget, according to INEC Chairman during the Quarterly Civil Society Consultative meeting on 25th October 2023. In fact, according to the Chairman, all 5 off-cycle elections, including Anambra and Edo state elections, had been catered for by the 2023 General election budget.
“One therefore wonders what the 18 billion Naira which was covered by the previous budget would be used for.
Since May 2023, petrol prices experienced a threefold increase with the discontinuation of the fraudulent fuel subsidy programme by Tinubu’s administration. The exchange rate has plummeted to an all-time low due to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to allow the currency to depreciate.
“Although both of these measures are expected to have long-term economic benefits as explained, they have exacerbated the ongoing cost of living challenges in Nigeria, especially its well over 133 million multidimensionally poor citizens. It then begs reason as to how the focus of the palliatives have shifted to the legislature and executives who are the most privileged citizens in Nigeria.
•Insensitive, irresponsible
“There are questions to be answered. Why forgo about N3 trillion to sustain subsidies that would have maintained petrol prices at 300% less than its current price and reduced current costs of goods and services, only to approve N2.8 trillion for even worse reasons?
“What informed these budgets? How pertinent are they in the face of Nigeria’s more pressing economic needs? Should we be borrowing for frivolities considering our overbearing debt burden? Should Nigerians be tightening their belts to satisfy a few?
“It is insensitive and irresponsible to earmark N6.9 billion for the procurement of vehicles for the State House and N1.5 billion allocated for new cars for the unconstitutional Office of the First Lady, among other frivolous items.
Government budgeting represents the essential process of distributing revenues and borrowed funds in order to achieve a nation’s economic and social objectives.
“To realize this, President Tinubu should, in line with responsible governments worldwide, enhance the efficiency of public expenditure to ensure the optimal economic outcomes from the production and delivery of goods and services while maintaining a sound fiscal position.
“Moving forward, the general public, through civil society engagement and increased transparency in public administration, should actively seek information and provide input at all four stages of the budget process, which include preparation, authorization, execution, and accountability.”