Former spokesperson of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation Femi Fani-Kayode has described the 2016 budget presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the joint National Assembly as fueled by insincerity.
According to him, it was ironic that former governor Asiwaju Tinubu; Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi and Governor Nasir El-Rufai who kicked against deregulation by former president Jonathan, have suddenly become great supporters of deregulation.
In a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, Fani-Kayode who accused Buhari’s administration of spending money like a drunken sailor, alleged that the government was borrowing as if there was no tomorrow.
The former Aviation minister noted that the government was mortgaging the future of Nigeria, Nigerians and our children, adding, “The 2016 budget is fueled by insincerity, shrouded in fantasy, built on tall dreams and spawned by deceit, ignorance and the illusion of change. It is bloated, unrealistic, expensive, cosmetic and it will not result in anything good.
“In order to fund part of the budget, the government intends to borrow money and this will throw our country into even greater debt. What a tragedy this is given the fact that in 2007 Nigeria was debt-free. The Buhari administration is spending money like a drunken sailor and they are borrowing as if there is no tomorrow, mortgaging the future of our nation and our children.
“We need far more fiscal discipline and seriousness than that if our government really wishes to improve the economy and better the lives of ordinary people.
“Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said that ex-president Goodluck Jonathan is responsible for today’s long fuel queues even though he left office 7 months ago.
“They seem to have forgotten that in 2012, it was their group, led by Bola Tinubu, Nasir El-Rufai, Rotimi Amaechi and President Buhari himself that aggressively opposed deregulation and almost brought the whole country to a standstill with protests and riots all over the place in their efforts to prevent the government from removing the oil subsidy.
“Had it not been for their pettiness, lack of understanding, shortsightedness and double standards, the subsidy would have been removed three years ago and fuel queues would have been a thing of history. Sadly they lacked the foresight to appreciate the virtues of that policy and today, they have the nerve to blame Jonathan for the mess that they themselves essentially created.
“They have been in power for 7 months now: It is time for them to step up to the plate, start taking responsibility for their own actions, do a better job and stop blaming Jonathan for their own miserable and avoidable failures.”
-Vanguard