By Ismail Omipidan and Chinelo Obogo
Nigerians yesterday reacted to the decision of the National Assembly to make public, details of its budget breakdown.
Elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, said the lawmakers’ action would have shut the mouths of those “trying to undermine the legislature over the issue.”
He told Daily Sun: “It is a very good development because it will shut the mouths of those who are anti- democratic forces. Those are the people that have been throwing aspersions on the integrity of the National Assembly because of the budget and making all sorts of allegations with the intention to undermine the confidence of the people in the Senate.
“Now that the budget has been made public, the action of the Senate has succeeded in clearing the suspicion created in the minds of Nigerians.
“This is because people would be able to know exactly how much the Senate spends and how much each member of the National Assembly earns in terms of salary, allowances and so on.
“In my opinion, eroding confidence in the National Assembly is capable of destroying the democratic experiment that we are now engaged in.
“At one time I was getting worried whether something would happen to our democracy because the campaign was calculated to tarnish the image of the National Assembly and if that is done, it means that our democracy is on its way out.”
Mohammad said: “Now that they have done what most Nigerians want them to do, it is welcome. It was left to them to choose between transparency or continue with their hide and seek budget system. “They decided to bow to pressure because they know that sooner than the later it will catch up with them.
“They thought they could hold on to their bogus secret budget. Democracy is all about transparency. They cannot hold other agencies of government to ransom over budget issue, while they continue in their hide and seek game.
“But let me also warn that any attempt by them to vire or transfer any fund to their own budget will be exposed, and I will join in exposing them.”
Reacting on the 2017 budget generally, Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Cairo Ojoughoh, said: “We have not seen the details of the budget. When the party gets the full details of the budget, we will give it to our experts, who will study it and analyse it carefully. It is after that the party will make its position known on the budget known.”
On the budget delay, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, Managing Director, Cowry Assets Management Ltd, said: “When you delay a budget, you take away the effectiveness of its implementation.
“We have lost almost half of the year due to the delay in the passage of the budget. And due to the seasonality of the rain, some physical infrastructure like road may be difficult to be executed.
“This will reflect on the implementation of the budget.”
Mr. Sewa Wusu, Head, Research & Investment Advisory SCM Capital Limited, said: “You should remember that the 2016 budget is still running, because its implementation was extended till the end of May 2017.
“That has bridged the gap in the implementation of the 2017 budget.
“My advise to the National Assembly is that they should pass the Budget at the appropriate time.
“The delay in the passage of the 2017 budget has really affected the economy.
“Now that the budget has been passed, the Federal Government should monitor its implementation so that its desired impacts could be felt on the economy.”