Slash Budgets On Presidential Air Fleet, Villa Maintenance, NASS, Others, Atiku Tells FG

Former Nigerian Vice President and presidential candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has called on the government to reduce its budget on  “wasteful” projects contained in the approved revised 2020 budget, saying that the country cannot afford such a cost amidst the financial crisis.

Atiku said this on Tuesday in a statement titled, ‘Nigeria In Financial Crisis: Robbing Our Children to Pay for Our Greed.'”As a matter of utmost urgency and importance, I call on the Federal Government to take immediate steps to drastically reduce its expenditure, especially on wasteful projects, such as maintenance of the Presidential Air Fleet, and unnecessary renovations of buildings that could serve as is, limousine fleet for top government officials, overseas travels and treatments, and the ₦4.6billion Presidential villa maintenance budget, etc.

“We cannot be on the verge of economic ruin, while still maintaining a Presidential Air Fleet that has more planes than the Presidential fleets of those from whom we take these loans.

“Nigeria must sell those planes and channel the revenue to other vital areas of need while taking additional steps to reduce the cost of running our government,” he said in a tweet.

Atiku said that the most shocking thing in his entire  life in public service was the “revelation from Nigeria’s First Quarter 2020 financial reports in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy from the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, which shows, alarmingly, that whereas Nigeria spent a total sum of ₦943.12 billion in debt servicing, the Federal Government’s retained revenue for the same period was only ₦950.56 billion. This means that Nigeria’s debt to revenue ratio is now 99%.”

He said, “No one should be deceived. This is a crisis! Debt servicing does not equate to debt repayment. The reality is that Nigeria is paying only the minimum payment to cover our interest charges. The principal remains untouched and is possibly growing.

“In my opinion editorial of December 17 2019, titled ‘Endless Borrowing Will Lead Nigeria to Endless Sorrowing’, I had cause to counsel the Federal Government to desist from indiscriminate lending, and offered suggestions on ways to both increase revenue and reduce expenditure.” .

He said despite his counsel to the government recommending a 25% cut of the budget to reflect the economic realities,  “Again, my entreaties were brushed aside.”

The former VP said  Nigeria squandered its opportunities, “we have also squandered the opportunities of our future generations by bequeathing them a debt that they neither incurred nor enjoyed.”

“The Federal Government cannot continue to justify these unsustainable numbers by pointing at Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio. That is only half the picture. Our debt to revenue ratio paints a much more realistic portrait of our financial situation, especially as our revenues are majorly tied to a mono-product, oil and gas, which are very vulnerable to global shocks.

“Again, I warn that Nigeria is facing a crisis, and we cannot continue to keep up appearances by taking out more loans to prop up our economy. That will amount not just to robbing Peter to pay Paul, but to robbing our children to pay for our greed!” he added.