President Muhammadu Buhari has said that he is certain the 2022 budget will accomplish the purpose for which it was created.
Speaking exclusively to Channels Television on Wednesday, the president said he is confident that the budget will succeed because the National Assembly is led by trusted members of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
When asked if he is afraid that the budget might not be able to achieve its purpose, the president replied, “No! Not at all”.
He said, “My confidence that we can successfully implement the budget is because, in both houses, the party is leading.
“It’s APC party and the leadership; look at the Senate President, he was in the House of Reps for two or three terms before he went to the Senate.
“Look at Femi Gbajabiamila, I was watching on the television, when he was an ordinary member, he was always on his seat fighting for the party and the system we believe in.
“Really, I consider myself lucky. My party and their competent leadership are both leading in the Senate and House of Representatives.
“That’s why you don’t hear much about me, I allow them to do all the things because I can’t go against my party and I can’t go against people I have absolute confidence in. I know they are doing their best,” President Buhari added.
He further asserted that the objections earlier raised before he assented to the budget will not cause a rift between the Executive and Legislative arms of government.
“The legislature is amazing,” the president said.
Following President Buhari’s assent to the 2022 budget, there were reports of friction between the presidency and the parliament.
The president had expressed strong reservations on the “worrisome changes” made by the National Assembly to the 2022 Executive Budget proposal.
He frowned at many changes that the National Assembly made to the 2022 Executive Budget proposal, including “Increase in projected FGN Independent Revenue by N400 billion, the justification for which is yet to be provided to the Executive; Reduction in the provision for Sinking Fund to Retire Maturing Bonds by N22 billion without any explanation; Reduction of the provisions for the Non-Regular Allowances of the Nigerian Police Force and the Nigerian Navy by N15 billion and N5 billion respectively”.
With all the irregularities encountered, the president still signed the budget, and the presidency has since said that though disagreements were encountered with the insertions, the president and the parliament have not fallen out.
