The president of the
Nigerian Senate, Bukola Saraki, on Thursday, December 20, described the 2019
appropriation bill presented to a joint session of the National Assembly on
Wednesday, December 19, by President Muhammadu Buhari as hopeless.
Saraki, who spoke as the
director general of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign
Council (PCCO) in Abuja, at a town hall meeting the party’s flagbearer, Alhaji
Atiku Abubakar, had with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), further argued
that Nigerians were safer in 2015 than they are today.
According to Saraki, the
budget presented by Buhari “has no future because the statistics do not
indicate how it will be funded.”
“There must be an
alternative and that is what we hope that by this evening speaking to our
candidate and vice presidential candidate, not based on sentiments, we are not
voting on sentiments we are voting on what is the need for you.
“How is your life going to
be better? Which party offers you a better future because we see you as those
who are patriotic and committed. It’s not about what you’ll get today. It’s
about the great country a lot of you have been passing that sacrifice over the
years.”
Saraki further predicted
that President Buhari will not attend the January 19, 2019, presidential debate
adding that anyone that wants to lead the country and by extension African
should be able to tell the people what he wants to do.
“This is an interactive
session I’m not sure whether the other political parties will give you an
opportunity like this to ask them any question. I’m told that one has debated
and you already know the answer to that debate. On the second one, I’m very sure
he’s not going to debate. So how do you assess somebody who is not ready to
tell you what he’s going to do?
“Those days are gone, my
good people, the future of this country, a country that leads the continent
that is not the example we want to set for this continent. The whole world is
going in a direction, if you’re seeking a position, you must come and tell
people what you want to do, you must sit down and they’ll ask you questions and
that is why we’re here.
“Today is your day, we will
sit down and take questions, I hope at the end of the exercise you will stand
up and say yes this is the team that will secure Nigeria, this is the team that
will unite Nigeria, this is the team that will fight the poverty in town and
bring a bright future.”
Legit.ng earlier reported
that President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday, December 19, proposed a budget of
N8.83 trillion for 2019 to a joint session of the National Assembly, saying the
budget was prepared after wide consultations.
According to the budget,
about a quarter of the sum (N2.14 trillion) will be used for debt servicing
while N2.031 trillion will be used for capital expenditure.
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