‘Federal Govt will spend N795Million to Upgrade Website’-Buhari, Nigeria’s President
*Says: ‘N536Million to link Cables from Drivers’ Rest Room, Guest House to Aso Vila’
*’Buhari’s Corrected 2016 Budget is a FRAUD’-Members, House of Representatives
*’Nigeria is 62nd Poorest Nation in the World’-Global Finance Group
*’Why Naira continually Depreciates in FOREX Market, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi Nigeria’s Best CBN Governor’-Johnson Akpemu, Economic Expert, New Jersey
*’Tougher Times Ahead for Nigerians’-Prophet Destiny Oloruntoba, C&S Church, Chicago
*QUOTE: “The whole point of extravagance is to act like a fool and feel like a fool, but enjoy it”-Alfred Bester
BY NURENI JAMIU/DEPUTY EDITOR, ABUJA & SAMSSON SHOAGA/MANAGING EDITOR, NEW JERSEY
“THE Extravagant expenditure of public money is an evil not to be measured by the value of that money to the people who are taxed for it”, postulates Chester Arthur. Strong condemnation and growing criticism is daily greeting the high-handedness of the incumbent administration of Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari in his latest re-adjusted and upgraded 2016 Budget to the tune of N795Million which earlier got missing recently in the hallow chamber of the nation’s red-carpet Senate chambers.
In a country where over 33 percent of the population live below poverty line of less than One United States dollar a day, Nigeria’s President in his latest upgraded 2016 Budget stated his administration will be spending a whooping sum of N795Million just to expand the network of its internet configuration to the highest standards. The report also mentioned that the sum of N536Million has been set aside to link cables from Drivers’ rest room, Guest House to Aso Rock-the seat of power.
Hard knocks and quick outrage have been attracted to this latest move of Buhari which many see as ‘waste, outrageous, outlandish, extravagance and careless-spending’ of Africa’s most populous nation scarce resources where there is no constant electricity supply, alarming insecurity rate, food crisis insecurity, national security threat due to terrorism, high level of poverty and unemployment’. Surely, this is seeing in many international circles as casting a shadow of doubt on the sincerity of Buhari’s government to fight and win war against corruption.
‘Buhari’s Corrected 2016 Budget is a FRAUD’-Members, House of Representatives
Meanwhile, some angry members of Nigeria’s lower House of Assembly, the ‘Green Chambers’ called House of Representatives have expressed displeasure over the N795m budgeted for website update in the corrected version of the 2016 budget by Buhari. They believe Buhari’s attitude is an insult and frowned at the N536m earmarked to link cables from drivers’ rest room, guest house to the Aso Villa, describing it as a fraud.
To these enraged parliamentarians, Buhari needs to apologize to Nigerians over the unnecessary controversy he allowed to trail the 2016 Appropriation Bill out of ‘greed’. They described the corrected version of the N6.08trn budget proposal submitted to the House as wasteful and a fraud.
These legislators said: “The act has caused the country an embarrassment in the eyes of the international community.” This is the reason some members of the House, who made their dissatisfaction with the budget known during the debate on the Appropriation Bill, accused the government of corruption.
Corroborating same view, Johnson Agbonayinma, representing Egor, Ikpoba, Okha Federal Constituency of Edo State, contend that he did not see the first budget that was laid before the House on December 22, 2015 by Mr. President. He agreed that it was his right to know the contents of the first and the second documents.
Obviously furious Agbonayinma said the President should apologize to the nation over the embarrassment the alleged smuggling of the budget caused the country. Though quickly interrupted by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, this lawmaker explained that it was a “monumental fraud” for the President, who was talking about cutting cost of governance, to earmark about N800m just for website update in the Villa. He questioned the rationale behind allocating N322m just to link cable from the drivers’ rest room to the Villa and another N213m to link cable from the Guest House to the General House.
‘Nigeria is 62nd Poorest Nation in the World’-Global Finance Group
In its latest report, Global Finance Group, a highly respected rating agency in Millennium Goal projects ranked Nigeria as 62nd poorest nation in the world in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Purchasing Power per Capital. It rates Nigeria 62nd with a GDP of 6,467.23 comparatively to other nations in the world in terms: cost of living and standards between countries. It source its evidence from: World Bank Country Profiles, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Fiscal Monitor, Principles of Economics by Greg Maukwi; IMF World Economic Outlook, New York Times ‘Rise & Fall of GDP’ among others.
‘Why Naira continually Depreciates in FOREX Market, Sanusi Lamido Nigeria’s Best CBN Governor’-Johnson Akpemu, Economic Expert, New Jersey
An Economic expert, Johnson Akpemu, an African-American did not spare President Buhari’s faint economic policies which he described as ‘hallow, lack in merit and encouraging inflation.’ In an exclusive interview he explains: “The current system of economic practice undertaken by the Buhari administration is bound to fail, and heading to crisis. The way it is going, just in matter of time, Nigeria’s economy will crash, going by the index reading in the strangled economy. The nation’s economy is speedily encouraging inflation, and helping majority of Nigerian politicians to buy-off United States dollars from the black market-which many of them are keeping in their homes. That is why as at today, you witness One United States dollar equating N320 (Three Hundred and Twenty Naira). Nigeria has never had it this tough. It is worse under Buhari for fighting corruption, without providing any alternative economic comfort for the people in terms of liberalizing basic amenities for the people. This economic policy of Buhari is putting heavy burden on cost of living in Nigeria as in: house rents, prices of food and rest.
“Many of us abroad firmly believe the reign of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, then Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was the best Nigeria ever had in terms of sound economic policies, resounding impact on financial institutions, economic growth, strength of Naira in Foreign Exchange Market and stabilization of the nation’s economy. He had direction, he had focus and he understood economic secrets.”
‘Tougher Times Ahead for Nigerians’-Prophet Destiny Oloruntoba, C&S Church, Chicago
Prophet Destiny Oloruntoba, a Prophet and General Overseer of Cherubim & Seraphim Church in Chicago, Illinois, revealed that harder times await Nigerians in the present administration of President Buhari. His words: “I see tougher times, harder times and higher inflationary period ahead of Nigeria. The suffering of the people will be much, the economy will be growing thinner and the Naira will be worse off in value compared to any other Nigerian government in power. Righteousness exalt a nation, sin is a reproach. I know lots of Christians are praying for God’s intervention. Nigeria is a project in God’s hands. It is in His plans to weed-off every enemies of the country who are stealing the peoples wealth and making them suffer. Let him that has ears hear what the Spirit of God is telling the church.”
