By Bode Olagoke
Abuja
A member of the National Assembly, Hon. James Faleke, has said that the much-awaited 2017 Budget “is now ready for passage,” adding that the delay was due to efforts to avoid “budget padding.”
Faleke also said the National Assembly was to do the needful this time with the budget details being submitted.
Speaking with newsmen yesterday in Abuja after a closed door meeting with the Kogi APC stakeholders in Abuja, Faleke, who confirmed that there was crisis in his state chapter of the party, however, refused to comments further on the issue.
He said: “Budget process takes some time, unlike what we had before where you talk about budget padding or no padding. What the national Assembly tried to do this time is to do the needful once and for all with the budget details being submitted. The budget is ready, only to be considered at the floor, probably this week, as all committees have finished their work”.
When asked to comment on the budget delay, the lawmaker said: “It is not about delay but doing things right. If we hurriedly do it and get things wrong, Nigerians will condemn us. It is about doing things right.
On the performance of APC government two years into office, Faleke, who contested governorship election alongside late Abubakar Audu said Nigeria would have collapsed if Buhari did not win the last presidential election.
“It is true that the party will be two years old by May 29 and I can tell you sincerely that the country has moved forward from what we used to have. Don’t forget that during the last regime, things had almost collapsed and the economy that had collapsed is not easy to reform over night and I think that what the President has done in the last two years is to have taken time to reform the economy, which is now yielding fruits.
