2021 Budget: Senators commend budget, call for speedy implementation

Sen. Smart Adeyemi (APC Kogi) has commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s resolve to continue the execution of ongoing projects in the 2021 budget.

Adeyemi made the commendation while reacting to the 2021 budget presentation by President Muhammadu Buhari to the joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday.

He commended president’s focus on completing all ongoing projects, saying “it is fantastic’’.

He said that Buhari’s decision not to initiate new projects until ongoing projects were completed was an uncommon attribute not associated with an average politician in the country.

“A typical Nigerian politician will not be thinking of completing ongoing projects; he will be thinking of new projects.

“If these projects are completed and we have good network of roads in the North, South, West and East of the country, there will be boom in economic activities.

“And because the economists are telling us that next year may not be too friendly economically; this is a global problem.

“We may not feel the pain as much because the policies that are required to cushion global economic recession are already put in black and white for people to know that the government is conscious of it.

“The prayer is that let the government implement all it has earmarked in terms of the policies and should not bother too much about money or the figures involved to do this.

“It should look at the policy put in place to galvanise the economic activities of the country.

“Once you have good road network in the country, rail system, and other infrastructures; these are key to economic boom.”

Sen. Obinna Ogba (PDP Ebonyi) also reacting to the 2021 budget, said he was delighted that Buhari directed that all ministers and heads of Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) must appear to defend their budgets before the National Assembly.

Ogba said that this would help eradicate the reasons why budgets were being unnecessarily delayed for passage.

He, however, said the executive needs to provide solution about the challenge of revenue generation in the country.

“Not that the country does not have revenue but these revenues go down the drain as the MDAs account for are not what are actually generated.

“Effort should be made to transfer all money generated directly to the Federation Account and when this is done, you will discover that the issue of revenue will not be a problem in the country.”

He expressed surprise that the N100 billion earmark as zonal intervention fund had remained the same over the years.

“I am surprise that the money earmarked for zonal intervention projects for the 2021 budget estimates is not increased.

“It has always been like that for some time now; it needs to be increased.

“Because what comes to my constituency is N200 million and when you come to my constituency you will see the projects we did with the money.

“In my community, where I come from, you cannot see Federal Government projects apart from the constituency projects,” Ogba said.