Following the signing of the 2016 budget into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, Saturday PUNCH captured the reactions of some prominent Nigerians. While many felt the move took too long in coming and could plunge the economy deeper into crisis, others expressed excitement, stating that the nation was about to witness tremendous improvement in every area
We have lost this year –Spokesperson, Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin
The imbroglio over the budget for about five months was quite unnecessary. As it is, we have practically lost this year. The rains are here now and so I don’t know which job the Ministry of Works wants to do on any road.
There is a clear danger in the land for the fact that the economy is crumbling. A few days ago, an Italian in the country closed down his factory with all 400 Nigerian workers losing their jobs. A similar thing is also happening in almost every sector of the economy. If care is not taken, we might find it very difficult to arrest the decline being witnessed in the economy.
I would therefore advise the government to sit down and see how they can salvage the situation otherwise we could be in for a serious problem. Funding the budget now is still a major issue that needs to be addressed. I fear that we have lost 2016; so the government should begin to prepare in earnest for 2017 to prevent such from happening again. A nation shouldn’t go through this type of thing twice.
Budget going to transform Nigeria –Former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja, Lagos, branch, Monday Ubani
The signing of the budget by the president has made me one of the happiest persons in this country today because it is the most epileptic in the history of Nigeria. It started with being missing, the next story was that it was being padded, after they managed to unpad, they added some flesh to it again.
But the good news is that it is one of the biggest and most ambitious budgets in the history of this country. I have this feeling and conviction that this budget is actually going to transform Nigeria. This government means business, there is a high level of transparency and as a result there would be a high level of compliance and execution of the details. It is not going to be business as usual because Nigerians are becoming more conscious and the government, a little more sensitive to the people’s feelings. It may not be 100 per cent compliance but I am expecting a high level of it from this government.
The time we have lost in passing this budget is unnecessary but I see it as a learning curve for the All Progressives Congress-led administration. They have never governed at the national level and so this experience gives them an opportunity to learn vital lessons. I am sure they will use this one to get the 2017 version right.
The time lost can be regained if there is integrity on the part of the government. Funds can be disbursed quickly for capital projects to be carried out and by December we would have covered a lot of lost grounds in this regard.
The pressure on the economy as a result of the delay in passing the budget might not automatically disappear; it would take a gradual process. As funds are disbursed for various purposes by the government, it will surely trickle down to the ordinary man on the street one way or the other, so the pressure will begin to ease. This is the most ambitious budget we’ve had in this country and I am convinced it is going to turn out well.
There has to be some form of compensation for the long wait–Chairman, Copyright Society of Nigeria, Tony Okoroji
I think it is a very good thing that the president has signed the budget. There would be less excuse on why things have not been on the right direction. We are in a democracy and nobody is supposed to spend money except it is authorised by the national assembly; which is the reason some of us think things have not moved as fast as they should.
Signing the budget has taken too much time and we hope things would get better. There should be no queues at petrol stations; there should be regular power supply and also employment for the youths. There has to be some form of compensation for the long wait Nigerians have had to endure. After this, there should be no excuses anymore.
No more delays, time for work –Entertainer/entrepreneur, Gbenga Adeyinka
I feel excited that the budget has finally been signed. It is better late than never. Now we can start the work that needs to be done because there are lots of things that need to be done.
It is sad that it took so long but now that is has been signed, we should commence work immediately, there must be no more delays. I expect that everything that needs the government’s attention would be attended to. They should look at the areas of power supply, infrastructural development, and employment opportunities. They should do what is right.
Budget must be for the people –National President, Nigerian Bar Association, Augustine Alegeh (SAN)
We are happy that the budget imbroglio has finally ended and that the budget has been signed by the President. We hope that whatever led to the delay will be addressed in years to come. We also hope that the budget will address problems of Nigerians and the economy. We hope it will alleviate poverty and stimulate economic growth.
The most important thing is for the budget to be for the people. But people must understand that the budget is an estimate of income and expenditure and whatever is in the budget remains an estimate because the income has not been realised. The belief of some people is that when there is a budget, money will be awash in the system. At times it leads to the disappointment people feel. A budget is an estimate of income and expenditure. It is not a cheque that you take to the bank and cash. I’m saying this so that people will not start to expect that with the budget being signed, the whole place will become awash with money.
Government must swing into action –National Spokesperson, Ijaw Youth Council Worldwide, Mr. Eric Omare
In the first place, it was totally unnecessary for the process of budget presentation, passage and signing to have generated so much controversy because these are routine things that a government is meant to do. It is unfortunate because the delay has caused Nigerians a lot of pains and some of the things we have lost cannot be recovered like that.
For instance, in Nigeria, we have a dry season that runs from October to May and we are already in May. So in terms of constructions, we may not expect much. But in other aspects, we are looking forward to what the government will do to invigorate the economy. The Nigerian economy is down at the moment and part of the reasons is because of the delay in having a budget and having a policy direction. Foreign investors are not ready to invest where there is no policy direction.
So, we expect that in the coming days and months, the government will aggressively implement the aspects of the budget that will impact on the economy because our greatest problem now is with the economy and it should be done within a very short period of time. If that is not done, the situation on ground may degenerate so we expect the government to swing into action without delay.
Budget signing won’t change anything –Economist, Henry Boyo
Every year, the media celebrates the budget passage as if the only problem with the economy is because it had not been signed. In most cases, the budget is normally passed around April or May. Even when it is eventually passed, life continues as normal and nobody sees any difference.
The expectation of many is that once the budget is signed, a new life comes. But it is never so in most cases. So, why people keep sustaining that expectation is what totally baffles me, because it never happens that way.
The budget will be passed, and there is nothing different between what they are doing now and what they have done in the past, because we have never seen the result. It has never impacted in any way, if anything, our people have continued to grow poorer. In any case, why must you pay so much attention to the budget when the recurrent expenditure is being spent all along? It’s only the capital expenditure, which is only about N1.8tn, that makes the difference, and it will not be released at a go; it will be released in tranches.
So, the expectation, as created by the media, that implementation will happen immediately after it is signed is neither here nor there. The amount we are talking about is only about N1.8tn for capital expenditure, so why are people clapping as if that is what will transform our lives? We have left the important things behind. The media should be ringing the bell on a daily basis as to why the Central Bank of Nigeria keeps mopping up excess liquidity, where does the money come from, why does the government have to borrow money when it also mops up excess liquidity, why is government saying it is making intervention in the real sector when in fact they are depriving the real sector from borrowing, through high cost of funds? These are the realities we should approach.
The truth is that if we don’t address these issues, you just find that nothing has changed. In reality, the determinant of economic progress and the possibility of saving people from poverty will not be based on signing the budget but it will be based on the indices of monetary policy.
Budget has no economic logic – Former presidential candidate, National Conscience Party, Martin Onovo
My expectation from the budget is zero because it is dependent on loan. The budget has no proper economic logic. It was planned without an appreciation of the present high debt situation of the country, and therefore capable of leading the country to a debt crisis.
The National Assembly has passed that budget but the consequences cannot be avoided because once we do the wrong thing, we must expect the wrong result.
In addition, the budget is coming five months late, which is an indication of inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the current Federal Government. We just need to be proactive as a people if we truly desire development. We need to seek the thing that will help us achieve our national development and promote them.
This 2016 budget is negative to national development; it is fundamentally perverted and can only lead this country to severe economic crisis. It is the most wasteful budget Nigeria has prepared since 1999. It has the highest level of recurrent expenditure. I have not seen the signed version, but I have seen what was proposed. What was proposed is very destructive to national development. The budget has a level of national deceit because part of the justification is that we are borrowing to fund infrastructural development.
Credit: PUNCH
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