Nigeria’s former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Japan, Prof Gana Isa, has condemned the borrowing habit of the federal government, noting in particular, the unrelated meagre budget allocations to the ministries and parastatals.

He told newsmen in Ilorin at the weekend that no government would dare survive and progress on habitual borrowing.

According to the former commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Kwara State: “this is a borrowing federal government, it is borrowing endlessly. And we are not seeing what the money they are borrowing is being used for.”

He lamented that: “Trillions have been budgeted year in, year out. And we have also heard that ministries have complained that not up to 10 per cent of the capital budget was released to them,” asking: “so the question that one may ask is, where is the money budgeted?”

According to the former Deputy Speaker, Kwara state House of Assembly: “where is the money; is it being stolen by who and for what?”

He alleged that: “our country is being bled. The resources of this country have been stolen by a few people who are in government. That is the only conclusion I can reach.”

According to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) chieftain: “I was a presiding officer in the state Assembly, I know how the budgeting system works. You project that you make your estimates for income based on which you project that your expenditure then, you are able to realize the estimated income.

“So why is it that the estimated income which you have realized is not spent on the things you said you would do? Why? You pay only salaries, meagre salaries, peanuts pay to people. And then what happens to the remaining money? The remaining money has been stolen.

“It’s been stolen and now we are not moving forward. Have you heard of any major projects this government has executed in the last eleven years? What are the major projects that this APC government have executed? Have you had major projects executed by this government? No!” He stated.

He queried the Nigeria’s last three years’ performance, saying: “what is the percentage of execution of the budgets?

“These are things that the National Assembly should be questioning. Okay, you didn’t execute the project, I mean the budget. Where is the money budgeted? It’s not seen.

“Why are you rolling the budget of 2023, 2024, 2025? Why are you collapsing them together? Why? These are serious challenges and the citizens of this country must awake to realise that this APC government has thoroughly messed up this country. And if we don’t take any action, they will continue to do so and only God knows where they will lead us.

“What I’m saying is that we as citizens have an opportunity to say no to abject poverty; we have an opportunity to say no to banditry; we have an opportunity to say no to terrorism; we have an opportunity to say end this borrowing; we have an opportunity to say implement our budgets; we have an opportunity come January 2027.

“I pray that we, as citizens of this country, we are able to use this opportunity to free ourselves, to make our country good. We have an opportunity to ensure and to insist that we must conduct fair, free and acceptable elections. We can do it. Once the leadership is right, things will begin to change for good,” he enjoined. (The Guardian)

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