APC Hails Buhari’s Budget Presentation,Promises Fulfillment Of Campaign Promises
THE All Progressives Congress (APC) has assured Nigerians that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration will actualise its promises made to the citizens during the presidential campaign, beginning with the 2016 budget.
APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who said this while reacting to the 2016 budget presentation by the President, said the administration’s pro-people policies would be implemented in the 2016 financial year.
He said: “In fulfilment of APC’s election promises to the electorate, the party welcomes the proposed Social Welfare Programmes contained in the proposed 2016 National Budget submitted to the National Assembly.
“President Buhari has proposed N500 billion to pay unemployed graduates (post-NYSC grant) and feed school children, among other social welfare programmes in 2016.
“A phased Social Welfare Programme created to cater for a larger population of the poorest and most vulnerable Nigerians upon the evidence of children’s enrolment in school and evidence of immunisation has also been proposed to the National Assembly.
“President Buhari has also promised that 500,000 new teachers would be recruited. Compared to the last 16 years of locust, Nigerians are getting a much better deal from the seven-month old APC-led administration. On the strength of these proposals, the future holds more dividends of democracy for Nigerians.
“It is reassuring that the Federal Government has recovered huge sums from looters of our common wealth, which will be injected into the 2016 National Budget.”
Calling for the speedy passage of the budget, Oyegun said: “As the National Assembly considers the proposed 2016 National Budget, the APC calls on members of the Senate and House of Representatives to rise above political, regional and ethnic sentiments and pass the proposed budget, which is pro-people and in the best interest of Nigeria.
“The APC hails the cordial working relationship between the Eighth National Assembly and the executive arm of government, specifically the President.”
Oyegun said in personally presenting the budget, Buhari has demonstrated his commitment to Nigeria’s constitutional democracy and the dictates of the rule of law and also highlighted the importance of building a smooth working relationship with the National Assembly.
It’s a fraud, says PDP
THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the N6.8 trillion 2016 budget presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari as “a big fraud and executive conspiracy tailored towards mortgaging the future of the nation”.
The party faulted the President’s decision to borrow N2 trillion, describing it as the height of recklessness and deceit from a government that trends on propaganda.
In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, the PDP accused the government of trying to use bogus welfare programme and phantom capital projects as cover and conduit to siphon funds to satisfy partisan interests, particularly to settle huge campaign debts.
The statement said: “It is obvious that this budget is an extension of the campaign promises of the APC government, presented as a manifesto filled with bogus promises which implementation will be inconclusive, thereby allowing the APC to once again deny their promises.
“There has never been any known economy in the world where government deliberately mortgages the future of its nation by borrowing excessively to finance partisan interests while hiding under bogus welfare programmes.
“This is moreso important as the APC in reeling out its bogus campaign promises, never informed Nigerians that they would mortgage their future through excessive borrowing.”
“We have it on good authority that this is the first in the series of APC borrowings which would leave the future generation of Nigerians under the burden of huge debts after four years”.
The PDP said the budget clearly showed that after seven months in power, the administration cannot differentiate between governance and campaign propaganda.
(The Nation)
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