Gov Fayose Raises Alarm Over Buhari's China Trip.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has raised the alarm over President Mohammadu Buhari's scheduled trip to China.
Mr. Fayose said the
president was visiting the Asian country borrow $2 billion as part of
the N1.84 trillion programmed to be borrowed to finance the 2016 Budget,
describing the move as an attempt to mortgage the future of Nigeria and
its people.
The governor, who
said the 2016 budget was not a reflection of the present economic
reality in the country, added, "By the time they borrow N1.84 trillion
to fund their N6.06 billion budget; I wonder how Nigeria will survive in
2017 when the Federal Government will be servicing debt with about 50
percent of its budget."
In a release issued
on Friday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New
Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said; "In elementary economics,
you don't propose to spend more when your income reduces and I still
can't understand this Buharinomics in which Nigeria is going to spend
N6.06 billion with crude oil bench mark of $38 per barrel when the
country budget was N4.5 trillion in 2015 when crude oil bench mark was
$53 per barrel.
He said since the
President claimed to have recovered and still recovering trillions of
Naira looted from the treasury and over N3 trillion saved from the
Treasury Single Account (TSA), the 2016 budget should be funded with the
recovered fund.
The governor said
he was alerting Nigerians of the danger in the federal government's plan
to fund the 2016 budget with loan, adding that: "Tomorrow, it will be
said of me that I did not keep silent when Nigeria was being mortgaged
to unnecessary debt.
He warned that with
the proposed N1.84 trillion borrowing, $2 billion of which President
Buhari is already going to borrow in China, the nation may soon be going
the way of Greece because Nigeria will be borrowing N5 billion per day
for the next 365 days.
"If your income was
N200, 000 per month last year and your expenditure was N195, 000 per
month; does it make any economic sense for you to propose to spend N300,
000 per month this year that your income has reduced to N120, 000?
"Only President
Buhari can explain to Nigerians what manner of Economic theory
encourages borrowing of N1.84 trillion to fund a N6 trillion budget. As
for me, it is nothing but a voodoo economic theory and Nigerians must
take note that the income that should accrue to them in five years' time
is about to be spent in one year by the Buhari's APC government," the
governor said.


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