2005 Budget: Senator Canvasses Changes in Structure
From Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja
The Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service vice chairman, Senator Mohammed Abba-Aji, at the weekend called for a structural re-ordering of the 2005 Budget presented to the joint session of the National Assembly to enable the budget meet national needs.
Abba-Aji, in a three page statement entitled "Reflections on 2005 Budget Proposal," argued that, "from the face value, it is obvious that the budget proposal submitted to the National Assembly will not liberate Nigerians from the clutches of poverty, hunger and violent crimes. On the contrary, we are again headed for turbulent times."
According to him, "a most disturbing feature of the 2005 Budget proposal is government renouncement of the economic diversification agenda which it promoted in the 2004 budget. It is said to note that there is no particular attempt to promote investment in non-oil sectors like agriculture, solid mineral, tourism etc each of which has the the capacity to replace crude oil as the mainstay of the nation's economy. This, indeed is very sad.
"But in particular, one find it hard to rationalise the intention of the government in allocating a mere 2.5 per cent to the agricultural sector in the budget proposal.
"Though this shows a lack of understanding of the enormity of the economic problem of the country is faced with and the inherent danger in the mono-economy that we operate, it also detract from the President's projection of food surplus and prospects of Nigeria joining the league of food exporting countries in the world," he said further.
He noted that from the face value of the budget, "the President failed to meet popular expectation with the allocation of a miserly 2.5 per cent to the agricultural sector. This conflict with everything the budget presented - improved life for the people.
"It is ironical that the President is voting 8.6 per cent and 7.2 per cent for Defence and Police while only 2.5 per cent has been allocated agriculture which is the major source of employment for youths of the country," Abba-Aji asserted.
"It is equally shocking that the devastating menace of Quella Birds and the infestation of locusts which the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations had warned against was not mentioned at all in the President's budget speech.
"For the record, let me note here that these Quella Birds have eaten up almost 3 million metric tonnes of grains in the North Eastern part of the country alone. The infestation of locusts expected later in the year will cost almost the same level of damage," he alerted.
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