With the economy in a bind and a growing public anger over his administration’s management of the economy, President Goodluck Jonathan has taken a rare decision to spend less on food and consumables at the presidential villa in 2014.
As the budget comes under an increasingly intense media scrutiny, President Jonathan has given up nearly half of the presidency’s giant feeding bill of N1 billion, a proposal, two years ago, that shocked Nigerians and stirred public anger.
The feeding cost has been lowered by N494 million or 45.5 percent in the 2014 budget proposal sent to the National Assembly by the president.
The 2014 request, if approved by lawmakers, will be the lowest amount of naira spent by the State House on feeding and allied costs in two years.
In the 2012 budget presented in late 2011 by the president, his office and residence as well as those of Vice President Namadi Sambo were allocated an obscene N993 million for refreshments, catering services and purchase of kitchen equipment.
That year, approximately N477million was assigned for foodstuffs and “catering materials supplies” for the president’s office, while an additional N293 million was to provide “refreshment and meals” for the president’s comfort at his home and office.
An extra N45.4 million was earmarked to buy canteen and kitchen equipment for the president’s household, although similar purchases were made the previous year.
For the vice president’s office in 2012, foodstuff, catering and materials supplies were scheduled to cost N104 million, while cooking gas and cooking fuel was to consume N6.2 million.
Refreshments and meals at Mr. Sambo’s office and home were estimated at N20.8million, and another N45.4 million was allocated for purchase of kitchen and household equipment at the state house headquarters.
The funds allocated to feed Aso Rock in 2012 were sufficient to pay about 1,200 of the nation’s growing unemployed graduates a monthly salary of N70, 000 for a year.
That revelation at the time, published by PREMIUM TIMES, aggravated public anger and revved up resistance to government’s plan, within the same period, to remove petrol subsidy, and jack up the pump price of petrol.
A terribly embarrassed presidency quickly scrambled a review of the budget, cutting down the proposed feeding bill by N147 million.
But in the two years that have followed, the government has significantly lowered the feeding bill for the first and second families and their offices, raising the question how the huge 2012 bill may have been utilized, since the same purpose is now being served at a cheaper rate.
In 2013, the presidency’s feeding was put at N717.3 million. For 2014, the figure has been scaled downward to N542.8 million, the new budget shows.
In 2014, for the president’s office and residence, food stuff and catering materials supplies will cost N200.8 million, while refreshment and meals will gulp N162.6 million.
Cooking gas and fuel will be purchased at N 9.4 million while a new set of canteen and kitchen equipment-the same purchase that has consistently occurred for years-will cost the nation N131.8 million.
For the Vice president’s office, food stuff and catering materials supplies will cost N23.9 million, refreshment and meals N10.8 million, while cooking gas and fuel cost would be N3.6 million.
The figures are subject to National Assembly’s approval.
Federal revenues have dwindled during the past year with the government so terribly cash-strapped that it is unable to pay university teachers and execute key developmental projects.
“It’s all gimmicks”
Analysts however believe the presidential belt-tightening, by a regime known more for wasting billions on servicing the exotic tastes of administration officials and outright stealing of scarce public funds, is not an enough indication that the government is committed to fiscal responsibility.
“The reduction in the feeding cost was done specifically to hoodwink the public due to last year’s public outcry,” Olanrewaju Suraju, chairman of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption, CSNAC, told PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday morning. “There are lots of other outlandish spendings proposed in the budget and I’m sure that what he reduced in the feeding cost, he has smuggled it into the budget elsewhere.”
Yomi Ogunsanya, an Abuja-based lawyer spoke along the same line.
“It’s a good development that he (President Jonathan) has reduced his feeding bill but that is not enough,” Mr. Ogunsanya said. “If he wants to be taken seriously, he should cut down on the size of his delegations to foreign trips, and reduce outrageous allowances for his aides and other officials.
“He should learn from Malawi President Joyce Banda, who is selling her country’s presidential aircraft to feed the poor. It is unacceptable that he (Jonathan) is planning to buy a new aircraft at a time more than half of our people are hungry.

“It is even irritating that he plans to spend several millions to feed the animals in his zoo when more than half of Nigerians don’t have food to eat.
“Then he should tackle corruption headlong. He should stop sitting on reports indicting his key ministers for corruption. That’s only when we can begin to take him seriously.”
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/152367-jonathan-reduces-aso-rocks-billion-naira-feeding-bill-by-n494-million.html

is he the one to tackle corruption? what r the parliamentarians doing? why cant they pass anti corruption bill if they really lve this country? lets just see hw this year will look like now that APC r the majority.

Collins Colz: “It is even irritating that he plans to spend several millions to feed the animals in his zoo when more than half of Nigerians don’t have food to eat.
“Then he should tackle corruption headlong. He should stop sitting on reports indicting his key ministers for corruption. That’s only when we can begin to take him seriously.”
http://premiumtimesng.com/news/152367-jonathan-reduces-aso-rocks-billion-naira-feeding-bill-by-n494-million.html

dem say someone is a mad man, u dey ask why he dey bite people

Dem talk say someon na Jonathan, u dey ask why he is so clueless

U fall my hand. This is the retardeen we are discussing, ignore every act of foolishness. Its a trademark!

Its surprising that many of the overhyped individuals like NOI and sanusi that he rallied around himself had no sense is seeing how faulty that wretched budget they planned is!

A budget that enriches less than 10% of the whole population by dishing out 76% of the whole budget as running cost of govt!

Are so dunce to see that the masses were not considered here?

This govt is clueless, sorrounded by cluelessness!

IbokUtoroh: is he the one to tackle corruption? what r the parliamentarians doing? why cant they pass anti corruption bill if they really lve this country? lets just see hw this year will look like now that APC r the majority.

is APC ur problem?
For the years of ur darling PDP's rule, what measure did they take to tackle corruption?

And by asking if the president shld be d one to tackle corruption, its shows u're a dunderhead. Slow in reasoning!

what nonsense is this.. it should not be so. obama pays for his food, everything in the white house..

all this is calculated into the president , governor salary... from his salary... that why every usa president wife grasp anything they give.

in nigeria .. the first lady including the governors wife are more thief than their husband...

stealing is a way of life for nigeria politician... most of them are members of arm robbing gang , who became politician.

i dont know wat we're waitin for

lets take to d street, shut everythin down nd kick those bastards out of government

includin d national assembly

lets reset dis country!!!!

I wish I earn just up 2 dis guyz feeding allowance

The reduction of 45 per cent has been moved to other part of the budget, where it is captured by way of inflated contract.

That's good.

Everybody has to tighten their belts, the economy looks somehow.

musiwa112: what nonsense is this.. it should not be so. obama pays for his food, everything in the white house..

all this is calculated into the president , governor salary... from his salary... that why every usa president wife grasp anything they give.

in nigeria .. the first lady including the governors wife are more thief than their husband...

stealing is a way of life for nigeria politician... most of them are members of arm robbing gang , who became politician.

For the second time running, Musiwa made sense with his post! Please do take this your drugs religiously, the new recommendation is really effective.

For nigeria na everything get allowance..I dey expect to see how many billion b oilet allowance ooo

He declared it officially,I know he would steal it back unofficially.

This is why everybody wants to go into politics, the solution to the problem of Nigeria is not far to seek. let them cut down all these overwhelming allowances and make political offices less attractive financially.

Yeye smell is smell

So wats next?

*farts*

Gej and Pej go dey chop 1 - 0 - 1 now....corrupt government!

better....i wondr wah kinda food the president and his vice are eating....Gucci beans and Dolce rice

SLIDE waxie: dem say someone is a mad man, u dey ask why he dey bite people

Dem talk say someon na Jonathan, u dey ask why he is so clueless

U fall my hand. This is the retardeen we are discussing, ignore every act of foolishness. Its a trademark!

Its surprising that many of the overhyped individuals like NOI and sanusi that he rallied around himself had no sense is seeing how faulty that wretched budget they planned is!

A budget that enriches less than 10% of the whole population by dishing out 76% of the whole budget as running cost of govt!

Are so dunce to see that the masses were not considered here?

This govt is clueless, sorrounded by cluelessness!

Unfortunately,
THAT IS THEIR NO GOVERNMENT PHILOSOPHY.
THAT BUDGET MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL.
ALL IT DOES IS FEED THE PIGS AT THE TROUGH.

captcochrane: i dont know wat we're waitin for

lets take to d street, shut everythin down nd kick those bastards out of government

includin d national assembly

lets reset dis country!!!!

They have some brain dead soldiers/policemen waiting to shoot you.
Fact is until nigeria gets a president with a conscience ,
Someone who decides to be different ,
Forget about any dream of mass action.
You saw how the fuel subsidy protest was sabotaged by you know whom.
That should tell you all you need to know