Some members of the House of Representatives yesterday expressed displeasure over the N795m budgeted for website update in the corrected version of the 2016 budget by President Muhammadu Buhari. They also frowned at the N536m earmarked to link cables from drivers’ rest room, guest house to the Aso Villa, describing it as a fraud.

The lawmakers asked Buhari to apologise to Nigerians over the unnecessary controversy he allowed to trail the 2016 Appropriation Bill. They further described the corrected version of the N6.08trn budget proposal submitted to the House as wasteful and a fraud.

The legislators insisted that the act has caused the country an embarrassment in the eyes of the international community. Some members of the House, who made their dissatisfaction with the budget known during the debate on the Appropriation Bill, accused the government of corruption.

Contributing to the debate, Johnson Agbonayinma, representing Egor, Ikpoba, Okha Federal Constituency of Edo State, said he did not see the first budget that was laid before the House on 22nd December, 2015 by the President. He said it was his right to know the contents of the first and the second documents.

He also said the President should apologise to the nation over the embarrassment the alleged smuggling of the budget caused the country. Although he was interrupted by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, Agbonayinma contended that it was a “monumental fraud” for the President, who was talking about cutting cost of governance, to earmark about N800m just for website update in the Villa.

He also wondered the rationale behind allocating N322m just to link cable from the drivers’ rest room to the Villa and another N213m to link cable from the Guest House to the General House.

Speaking in an interview after the plenary, he said: “First of all I represent a constituency, Egor, Ikpoba, Okha Federal Constituency of Edo State and if you go around you see a lot of youth unemployed.

“In the 21st century in a nation where you are talking about economic crunch you are now budgeting N780m to upgrade website. “To me, that is monumental fraud, that is deceit; I want Nigerians to see the light of day; I want democracy to be sustainable. However we must have Nigeria’s interest at heart.

“Until we engage ourselves adhering to the three principal tenets of democratic doctrine; that is participation, loyalty and commitment to your dear nation, it’s not just speaking it, we must act; we must adhere to it in putting Nigerian first. This budget should speak for Nigerians not for certain individuals.

“There is no where on earth that you are upgrading a website and you are using seven hundred and ninety something million? That is almost a billion.”

Julius Pondi, representing Burutu Federal Constituency of Edo State, said the budget would not be realistic even as he described it as not being friendly.

Pondi wondered why government should allocate N4bn to Aso Rock clinic, even when the few privileged Nigerians working there always travelled out for medical treatment.

Segun Adekola, in his own contribution, said the Federal Government should have included the recovered funds as funding window in the budget. He said: “Everyday we hear that money is being recovered, this should be part of the funding of the budget.”

It was learnt that N3,889,015bn was budgeted for purchase of vehicles in the first budget, but this was reduced to N340m in the corrected version, while N3,914,197,062bn, which was not in the first budget document was now brought in the new one for annual maintenance of Villa facilities.

Besides, N228.6m for sourcing and purchasing equipment (purchase and importation), which was not in the first budget was contained in the corrected version.

•Excerpted from a National Mirror report. Photo shows President Buhari.

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