Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has said that controversies
surrounding the Federal Government 2016 Budget cannot be addressed by
mere sacking of the Director General of the Budget Office of the
Federation and appointing a new one, insisting that the budget must be
withdrawn from the National Assembly and a new and error free one
represented.
Governor Fayose, who also queried the request by the Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed for a "special funding
arrangement for public media organizations to enable them to scale up
their sensitization campaign against insurgency in the North-East,"
said Nigerians need further explanations as to why special fund will
be needed on Boko Haram that he (Lai Mohammed) said had already been
defeated.
In a release issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications
and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said what the
controversial 2016 budget required was a holistic approach, not just
making one person scapegoat, adding that; "the President must take
total responsibility for the budget scam and apologise to Nigerians
for the government's embarrassment caused by the display of gross
incompetence."
Governor Fayose maintained that padding of the budget with strange
figures, now being denied by Ministers was a clear intention to steal
in advance, adding that; "Though it is good that the President
listened to my call for the punishment of those responsible for the
national embarrassment, mere sacking of officers at the Budget Office
will not remove the stain splashed on Nigeria by the shameful budget."
He likened blaming an imaginary "budget mafia" for the padding of the
budget to a driver blaming someone else for not applying the brake
when it should have been applied, saying; "the bulk stops on the
President's table, he can't blame anyone apart from himself for this
national shame."
The governor said; "Sacking one or two persons on this budget scam is
just like using some people as cover-up for the national embarrassment
caused by the President himself. Even the President himself signed a
letter wrongly as October 22, 2016 and one is tempted to ask who the
President will sack for these avoidable errors.
"In my own opinion, it is necessary that those handling the President
should bring it to his consciousness that he is not God that cannot
make mistakes and this budget scam must be seen as part of the
mistakes that President Buhari is capable of making.
"By doing this, the President will be provided with another
opportunity to represent the Budget because I wonder how Nigeria can
operate on a budget already disowned by notable ministers, including
the government's spokesperson.
"Or what remedy can anyone do to a budget in which 2015 budgetary
allocations of an agency was reproduced verbatim? Even N180 million
was discovered to have been allocated to NIMET twice."
While calling on the Minister of Information to explain to Nigerians
why he required special budget for public media organizations on Boko
Haram insurgency, Governor Fayose said; "What they told us was that
they have technically defeated Boko Haram. What then do they need
special fund for? Even last year, there was no such special fund.
"To my mind, there could be more to this clamour for special fund for
media on 'already defeated' Boko Haram than meet the eyes."
surrounding the Federal Government 2016 Budget cannot be addressed by
mere sacking of the Director General of the Budget Office of the
Federation and appointing a new one, insisting that the budget must be
withdrawn from the National Assembly and a new and error free one
represented.
Governor Fayose, who also queried the request by the Minister of
Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed for a "special funding
arrangement for public media organizations to enable them to scale up
their sensitization campaign against insurgency in the North-East,"
said Nigerians need further explanations as to why special fund will
be needed on Boko Haram that he (Lai Mohammed) said had already been
defeated.
In a release issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications
and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said what the
controversial 2016 budget required was a holistic approach, not just
making one person scapegoat, adding that; "the President must take
total responsibility for the budget scam and apologise to Nigerians
for the government's embarrassment caused by the display of gross
incompetence."
Governor Fayose maintained that padding of the budget with strange
figures, now being denied by Ministers was a clear intention to steal
in advance, adding that; "Though it is good that the President
listened to my call for the punishment of those responsible for the
national embarrassment, mere sacking of officers at the Budget Office
will not remove the stain splashed on Nigeria by the shameful budget."
He likened blaming an imaginary "budget mafia" for the padding of the
budget to a driver blaming someone else for not applying the brake
when it should have been applied, saying; "the bulk stops on the
President's table, he can't blame anyone apart from himself for this
national shame."
The governor said; "Sacking one or two persons on this budget scam is
just like using some people as cover-up for the national embarrassment
caused by the President himself. Even the President himself signed a
letter wrongly as October 22, 2016 and one is tempted to ask who the
President will sack for these avoidable errors.
"In my own opinion, it is necessary that those handling the President
should bring it to his consciousness that he is not God that cannot
make mistakes and this budget scam must be seen as part of the
mistakes that President Buhari is capable of making.
"By doing this, the President will be provided with another
opportunity to represent the Budget because I wonder how Nigeria can
operate on a budget already disowned by notable ministers, including
the government's spokesperson.
"Or what remedy can anyone do to a budget in which 2015 budgetary
allocations of an agency was reproduced verbatim? Even N180 million
was discovered to have been allocated to NIMET twice."
While calling on the Minister of Information to explain to Nigerians
why he required special budget for public media organizations on Boko
Haram insurgency, Governor Fayose said; "What they told us was that
they have technically defeated Boko Haram. What then do they need
special fund for? Even last year, there was no such special fund.
"To my mind, there could be more to this clamour for special fund for
media on 'already defeated' Boko Haram than meet the eyes."
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
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