Buhari Misleads Nigerians Over 2016 Budget – National Assembly

Mon, Apr 11, 2016
By publisher
2 MIN READ

Business Briefs

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Abdulmumin Jibrin, chairman, House Committee on Appropriation,  has debunked media reports that the National Assembly removed the Lagos-Calabar Railway line project from the 2016 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Amidst allegation that the project was removed from the budget and padding of the budget by the National Assembly, Jibrin at the weekend through his tweeter handle challenged the presidency to tell Nigerians where the project was included in the budget.

The Kano-born politician tweeted that he was actually shocked that some national dailies made the removal their headlines without first checking the original budget 2016 document sent by the executive. He stressed that “Lagos-Calabar Railway line was NEVER captured in the budget that was sent by the executive. How then could it have been removed by NASS?… the nation is being misled”.

“The NASS has always been at the receiving end of bad press. This is being capitalised on in the conversations on #Budget2016. This is unfortunate as it is quite clear to all and sundry that #Budget2016 and all its headaches and controversies didn’t emanate from NASS,” he tweeted.

Vanguard reports that his position was confirmed by civic tech organisation, BudgiT Nigeria, that there was no provision for the Lagos-Calabar rail in the 2016 Budget submitted by the president.

Presidency sources said that Buhari felt disappointed that provisions for major national projects and programmes that could turn around the economy were either outrightly removed or funds for them ridiculously slashed by the lawmakers. Among the key projects removed from the budget by the lawmakers are the all-important Calabar-Lagos coastal rail line for which Buhari had made a provision of N60 billion in the 2016 estimates.

— Apr. 11, 2016 @ 9:00 GMT

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