The lawmaker representing Imo West Senatorial District, Senator Hope Uzodinma, has said that the good intentions of President Muhammadu Buhari regarding the 2016 Budget is not enough, adding that the plans for economic diversification “must move from the unknown to the known.”

He stated this during the ongoing debate on the 2016 Budget proposal in the upper chamber of the National Assembly, which has attracted contributions from about 70 senators.

In his contribution, Senator Ogola Foster, representing Bayelsa West, may have spoken the mind of his constituency when he said: “The budget will bring pain to my people, because it has not mentioned Bayelsa State in anyway.” He added that the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) should be readjusted to make provisions for federal projects to be sited in the Ijaw nation.

But the Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Ibn Na’Allah, countered that Ogola should not just focus on the Ijaw nation, but on Nigeria, in looking at the budget. He, however, noted that “the unity of Nigeria and equitable distribution of amenities should be looked at in the budget, and not sentiments.”

•Photo shows Senator Uzodinma.