The 2022 proposed budget of the Federal Government is littered with frivolous items to the tune of N227bn, a report by a civil society organisation, Centre for Social Justice, has revealed.
The report said that a pullout of the frivolous items from the budget by the National Assembly would address the growing level of deficit as well as improve public infrastructure across the country.
The PUNCH reported that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in October presented a budget of N16.39tn for 2022 to the Joint Session of the National Assembly.
But the CSJ, in its report titled: “Frivolous, inappropriate, unclear and wasteful estimates in the 2022 Federal Appropriation Bill”, said Nigeria’s revenue was simply inadequate to fund fundamental expenditure.
The Lead Director of the CSJ, Eze Onyekpere, while presenting the report of its Citizens Wealth Platform to journalists in Abuja, also said that Nigeria would save about N2tn from abolishing fuel subsidy.
He said, “Every available funds should be spent with the greatest value for money, tied to a high-level national policy framework and aimed at improving livelihoods, growing the economy, reducing poverty and inequality, adding value, etc.
“It is against this background that the pullout of frivolous, inappropriate, unclear and wasteful expenditure calls the attention of the executive, legislature, private sector, civil society including the media to these frivolities at a time of grave national crisis.”
Onyekpere emphasised that the 2022 Appropriation Act should contain an explicit provision on abolishing fuel subsidy and “under recovery or any subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit by whatever name called or under any guise whatsoever.
“This will save not less than N2tn and make the same available for the Federation Account. No fewer than 60 per cent of the savings accruing from abolishing the subsidy should be channelled to dedicated ring-fenced (statutory) expenditure in education and health”, he said
He quoted the 2022 Budget Call Circular as directing that “resources are to be allocated based on actual needs, in line with the immediate needs of the country as well as government’s developmental objectives and priorities.
While describing the annual budgetary allocations to the State House as a waste of fund, the CSJ demanded that government should lead by example.
