Economy
Nigeria’s 2022 budget not implementable – Wike
Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike has argued that the N17.127 trillion budget signed into law last week by President Muhammadu Buhari is not implementable.
Wike noted that the President should have returned the budget to the National Assembly for correction before assent, as according to him, many of the provisions cannot be implemented.
The Governor who said this in Bauchi yesterday, when he visited his counterpart, Bala Mohammed on a ‘special new year visit,’ expressed worry over the state of leadership recruitment in the country.
He said, “You saw a president yesterday that said this budget is unimplementable, yet he went ahead and signed something he knows would not help the country. For the Electoral Act, he faulted errors, saying direct primary will be too expensive and will affect security. But he signed something that he knows would affect the economic survival of the country negatively.”
Wike berated the federal government over what he described as a lopsided fight against corruption, saying that criminals were only found in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) “but if you go over to the All Progressives Congress (APC), you are no longer a criminal. What kind of system is that? Is that the kind of leadership you want?
He said: “As we speak today, there is no judicial autonomy in Nigeria. Go and see the nature of the Federal courts. I’m surprised that Mr. President could not make a pronouncement when he heard that the house of Justice of the Supreme Court was invaded. I’m sure if Justice Odili was killed, he would have issued a statement. In a country, when you see abomination, like an invasion of Supreme Court justice’ house, it is not just an invasion; it is a threat to the judiciary. And the president could not say, ‘I will not accept this’.”
The Rivers governor observed that the country needed a leadership that has regard for every region, irrespective of their religion. “If some people are saying that they are not part of you, it is your duty to make them feel that they are part of you. How do we build hope and confidence? It is by the kind of things that I do.”
Wike said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) must take responsibility FOR rescuing the country. He lamented the worsening insecurity in the country, saying that no part was safe again.
“The whole aim of a government is to protect lives and property. When that is not there, then there is no governance again. People must be allowed to use the road, health facility, to go to school and farm. These are the kind of things we continue to hear. Is that the kind of Nigeria you bargained for?”
The governor, who disclosed he was yet to see his parents and relatives in the New Year, said he decided to be in Bauchi on January 1, 2022 to be with his friend because he held him in high esteem.
Bala Mohammed thanked him for leaving the comfort of his state to visit him. He described Wike as a man who makes friends with people from other parts of the country
