EXCLUSIVE: APC lawmakers set to block Jonathan’s plan to buy new aircraft, renovate villa at N3 billion Opposition APC proposes reduction in budget allocations totalling N350 bn to fund capital projects. Nigeria’s main opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, has asked its members in the National Assembly to block a plan by President Goodluck Jonathan to upgrade facilities at the sprawling Aso Rock presidential villa, and purchase a new aircraft into an already bloated presidential air fleet at a huge N3 billion. The proposals are part of the 2014 budget currently before federal lawmakers. The APC also proposed a reduction in spending on about 16 items in the budget, to save N350 billion which should be used to raise capital expenditure and create jobs for Nigerians. These proposals are contained in the party’s 23- page review report on the 2014 budget titled: “Review of the Draft Federal Budget: APC’s Views on the Federal Government Draft Budget,” exclusively obtained by PREMIUM TIMES. The 2014 Appropriation Bill, which proposes a total expenditure of N4.62 trillion- a seven percent cut on the 2013 figure of N4.987 trillion- was presented to the National Assembly last December by the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. It is made up of N400bn (2013: N388bn) for statutory transfers; N737bn (2013: N592bn) for debt service; N2.385 trillion (2013: N2.419 trillion) for recurrent non-debt expenditure; and N1.245 trillion (2013: N1.589 trillion) for capital projects. The opposition party had directed its members in the National Assembly to block the passage of the budget and other executive bills in protest against the manner the federal government was handling the political crisis in Rivers State. The APC, however, said the objective of the review of the document was to guide its members in the National Assembly, who, with cooperation from their like-minded colleagues in the legislature “can restructure and improve the content of the 2014 budget to serve the people of Nigeria, and not the select few that will capture it as currently proposed.” In the report, the opposition party said the purchase of another aircraft, which would bring the number of aircraft in the presidential fleet to 11 and which would cost the nation N1.5bn; the upgrade of Presidential Villa facilities (N1.5bn) and the construction of a VIP wing at State House Clinic at N0.75bn, all proposed by the federal government, were unnecessary. The APC also demanded the reduction by N4 billion the cost of the proposed National Conference for which N7 billion was proposed by the government. The party, which had opposed the convocation of the conference, said the provision was excessive because it might achieve nothing. It further noted that the N7bn was more than what the average federal university gets in one year and about the same as the N8bn budgeted for “National Job Creation Scheme.” “Reduce the provision for the National Dialogue to N3bn and save N4bn for the capital budget. The provision is excessive. The National Political Reform Conference of 2005 cost N945 million and likely to lead to the same conclusion,” the party said in the report.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 03:11:29 +0000
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