Politics of ‘missing’ 2016 budget

President Muhammadu Buhari laying the box before a joint session of the National Assembly

The dramatis personae in the “missing” 2016 budget drama have yet to draw the curtain even as the President currently paints a grim picture of the nation’s economy. The drama of the “missing” budget was like a comical show at a time President Muhammadu Buhari opened up on the economic realities facing the country. He was recently quoted as saying that while a barrel of crude oil sold at $140 during his predecessor’s administration, the same product had fallen to less than $30 per barrel currently. To worsen the situation, some officials of the past administration allegedly frittered away the proceeds from this oil-boom era into their private accounts instead of using such to improve the economic and social well-being of the citizens. And this might have informed the current administration’s resolve to fish out the alleged treasury looters and recover the loot from them for the common good of the people.

And to boost the economy, the purported removal of fuel subsidy in the 2016 budget is a welcome development. But the government should go a step further by ensuring that our refineries are functioning at the optimum installed capacities with a view to refining petroleum products to meet our local consumption needs and even have excess for exportation to generate foreign revenue.

Also, while the comedy of the “missing budget” lasts, the Federal Government should take drastic measures to arrest the free fall of the naira. A situation where a dollar now sells for about N300 is not acceptable.

Maybe, there could be no need to dissipate our energy looking for the “missing budget” anymore because of the circumstances surrounding it. For sure the budget document was not with innocent goats as some Nigerians jocularly alleged on social media. Instead, the budget might have been “stolen” by those who did not like its contents. Could these be agents of some oil marketers or labour unionists who felt fuel subsidy provision should be included? We cannot say. All we know is that a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, was reported to have said the 2016 budget is a carbon copy of one of former President Goodluck Jonathan’s budgets because of its high recurrent expenditure component and curiously having the same percentage of budget deficit-37 per cent.

If these striking similarities as revealed by Soludo are confirmed, then there is no need for the Senate to spend another money in constituting a committee to search for the “missing” budget. Rather, since the draft of the controversial budget is still with the MDAs, the Presidency may be requested to represent it and ensure the recurrent expenditure is drastically reduced, maybe to 60:40 in favour of capital expenditure.

Furthermore, the budget deficit should be reduced from 37 per cent to less than 15 per cent. Borrowing money to finance 37 per cent deficit budget when the mainstay of the economy is in a coma is like mortgaging the future of generations yet unborn. While leaving the social schemes in the budget to alleviate poverty and the suffering of the masses, the bogus allocations in the recurrent component of the budget should be drastically reduced to reflect our current economic realities as revealed by Mr. President himself. In other words, Nigerians should not be told to brace themselves for hard times while generous budgetary allocations are made for the National Assembly members and other public officials to live in opulence. And this may not be in tandem with the current crusade against corruption that this administration is waging against corrupt former public officials.

If sacrifices are to be made in order to reclaim this nation from current economic doldrums, then the burden should not be carried by the masses alone. Rather, the Presidency, lawmakers, affluent public servants and members of the Bench (especially those who allegedly are in the habit of granting frivolous injunctions to corrupt public officials and business tycoons) should also be involved in paying the sacrifice to rescue the nation.