The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has cautioned the Federal Government against continued reliance on borrowing to fund the infrastructure needs of the country .
Lawan who gave the admonition Wednesday, at the Opening Session of a two – day Public Hearing, organised by the National Assembly on the N10.33 trillion 2020 budget proposals , suggested a Public Private Partnership option, to save the country from heavy indebtedness.
He said, “We cannot continue to borrow to build our infrastructure, I belong to that school that believes that, where we can have a PPP to build our infrastructure, We should do that.
“I feel that if we can build our road from Abuja to Kaduna or Kano with private fund and they design a way to collect their money, let us do that.
“Other countries have done that and it worked. As long as we are not shortchanged, we have to look at it. If we have to borrow, we should borrow, where there is another opportunity we should explore that.”
He added that the National Assembly was concerned with the issue of over overpricing of budgetary provisions in the national budget.
He tasked lawmakers to streamline the budgeting process to make for common pricing for same items and brand irrespective of the ministry department and, or agencies.
His words: “Our projects are over-priced. Where there is procurement of $10, 000 in one country it is $100, 000 in Nigeria, knowing fully well that we have paucity of funds.
“Our projects are over-priced truly, why should ministries department and agencies who are going to buy a product of the same brand from the same market provide different prices with wide variation between them?”
He noted that the plan of the Federal Government to take 10,000,000 Nigerians out of poverty annually was already good one but
said it would only be realizable when the relevant employment driven agencies of government that can offer recruitment and employment opportunities are tasked to provide the senate measureable targets.
He said the measurable and goals should be evaluated at every quarter to assess level of successes recorded or challenges to review.
Lawan also sought the resuscitation of the long term national planning programme.
He said, “I agree that the long term national economic programme is useful. We had it before, it worked for us better. We stopped it and we have seen the consequences.
“So now that we have a Minister that thinks that we should go back to that process and we have a National Assembly that is prepared to ensure that this country does better. We should hit the ground running.
“I am not aware of any request for legislation but if it is the desire or necessity that we legislate, this National Assembly will work with the government to ensure that we legislate on the national economic development plans.
“We have mandated our Committees to engage with the MDAs. We want the MDAs to give us roadmaps on how they intend to achieve their targets.
“If you are taken 10 million Nigerians out of poverty in 2020, in ten years it will be one hundred million.
“We want to see the plans by the relevant or responsible Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government on how the 2020 budget will be able to take 10 million Nigerians out of poverty.
“We want these to be measurable targets. We are not going to be asking for stories. We are going to be asking for facts.
“So, we are going to task the MDAs that in this year budget we will not wait until 2021, give us targets that are measurable which we can evaluate after every quarter.”
In his remarks, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the National Assembly was making efforts towards even distribution of projects and allocations to parts of the country.
Gbajabiamila noted that it was the first appropriation bill to be processed by the 8th House, stressing that the budget of any country was the blueprint of its economy and the basis upon which everything else is built. “
“For that reason, we thought it proper to hold this joint public hearing,” he said.
The Speaker added, “We are seeking an outcome that will reflect the thorough federal character of Nigeria at the end of the public hearing. No ‘lopsidedness;’ everybody has a part, everybody has an input. We are hear to listen, to take inputs and at the end of the day, we will exercise our constitutional authority and powers.
“Many people have asked me why we are all pressed on returning the budget cycle to January- December. It is simple; because the Constitution stipulated it.
“This allows proper planning and proper implementation, as opposed to what is obtainable for some time. It even as a way of supressing it.”
