If the General Abubakar Salami-led Committee on Abuja Peace Accord (APA), signed on 12th December, 2018, had the slightest indication that their good intention would turn out to be an effort in futility, they would not have embarked on the "national assignment" in the first instance! The working document, crafted by experts to guide all the 91 Political parties to stick to the rules of the game by ensuring a level playing field of issue/objective-based campaigns, avoidance of character assassination, hate speech/publications, campaigns of calumny etc, was dead on arrival because, candidate of the major opposition party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, failed to show up on the august day to append his signature side by side with President Muhammadu Buhari of the ruling party!
Although, he reluctantly signed the paperwork on the following day, it was manifest to the whole world few days after the whole exercise was a ruse when his party and their cohorts exhibited their penchant for always reneging on covenants during the 2019 BUDGET PRESENTATION by the President to Nigerians and by extension to the whole world! The Opposition Legislators led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), proved political analysts right on that fateful Wednesday, 19th December, 2018, during the presentation of the 2019 Appropriation Estimates to a joint session of the National Assembly, Abuja, when they revealed their true identity by employing derogatory languages (just like the negative daily internet invectives upon the person of President Muhammadu Buhari), and continuously punctuated his speech with boos, jeers, insults, synonymous with their on-line languages of the social network - twitter, instagram, facebook etc! We have it on good authority that the SHOW OF SHAME was an organized, orchestrated and hatched plan championed by PDP legislators whose Presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar, signed the toothless Abuja Peace Accord, which had NO BACKING OF THE LAW, and who neither listened nor understood the entire content of the 2019 Budget Document!
From that time to date Atiku's campaign team had consistently and persistently heated the polity with various unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against the incumbent President, members of his cabinet and close associates in order to gain relevance at all costs because of Atiku's "dented" social integrity and unmarketable political image! Atiku's handlers have totally forgotten that neither their dissemination of false/hate news on the social media, nor vicious libellous vituperations on the print/electronic media, could change the hand of the clock that is ticking towards victory for the ANOINTED CANDIDATE, Muhammadu Buhari, come 16th February, 2019! In spite of 16 years of consecutive woeful administrations by PDP and their advantageous power of incumbency up to the general elections of 2015, they fell YAKATA! They will fall again and again because they have not made full RESTITUTION for all the political, social, economic and security breaches committed through incompetence and corruption with impunity against innocent Nigerians in several years of violence and bloodshed!

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2019 N8.83 TRILION BUDGET ESTIMATES!
The budget proposal is based on the following assumptions: (1) Oil price bench mark of USD $60 dollars per barrel; (2) Crude Oil production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day, including condensates; (3) Exchange rate of N305 to USD$1.00 dollar; (4) Real GDP growth of 3.01% and Inflation rate of 9.98%.
Total projected revenue is projected at N6.97 trillion (which is 3% lower than the 2018 estimate of N 7.17trillion), consisting of Oil revenue projected at N3.73 trillion while non-oil revenue is estimated at N 1.39 trillion. A total expenditure of N 8.83 trillion which included grants and donor funds of N209.92 billion is estimated for 2019. This provision is less than the 2018 appropriated expenditure of N9.12 trillion. However, it is higher than the N8.6 trillion originally proposed by the Executive WHICH WAS PADDED BY THE LEGISLSTORS OF NASS in 2018! This proposed N8.83 trillion of 2019 Aggregate Expenditure comprise the following: (1) Recurrent Costs, 4.04 trillion; (2) Debt Servicing of N2.14 trillion; (3) Statutory Transfers of about N492.36 billion; (4) Sinking Fund of N120 billion which will be used to retire maturing bonds to local contractors; (5) Recurrent Expenditure was N4.04 trillion or 50.31% and N2.03 trillion representing 22.98% earmarked for Capital Projects; (6) Debt Servicing, N2.14 trillion; (7) Most of Recurrent Expenditure will be disbursed as Sectoral Allocation for salaries/overheads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA's)/Personnel Costs, etc, etc, as expatiated in the breakdown by the Minister for Budget and National Planning who believed that Budget circle of January to December could still be actualized by the end of the coming year.
The President disclosed that 53% of the current fiscal year of 2018 had been executed; out of a total appropriation of N 9.12 trillion, NN4.59 trillion had been spent as at 30th September, 2018, against the prorated expenditure target of N6.84 trillion which represents 67% performance with Capital Projects gulping N820.57 billon as at 14th December, 2018, and that government intended to roll over the balance to blend with the 2019 Budget which has made provisions for the NATIONAL MINIMUM WAGE, for comprehensive execution!

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS OF THE APC GOVERNMENT IN THREE-AND-HALF-YEARS: MAY 2015- NOVEMBER 2018: In spite of the economic challenging scenarios (local/foreign), on prices of both oil and non-oil commodities, the unpredictable trends in security, trade, politics etc, Nigeria, according to the President's account of stewardship, was able to wade through recession, unstable oil production bench marks, devastating floods, and still marching into the future with optimism and great faith.
Other achievements are listed as follows: (1) Strenuous and successful efforts to overcome the insurgency in the North East and to resolve inter-communal misunderstandings elsewhere; (2) Collaboration between Federal Government and National Economic Council to amicably resolve the incessant rift between nomadic pastoralists and sedentary farmers; (3) Sustenance of efforts to fight grand corruption in order to improve public financial management through the implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS), and the (4) Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS);etc, etc.
Oil and Gas/Crude Oil production, including diversification to Agriculture received mention and it is refreshing to note that up to early 2015, Nigeria spent USD $5 million dollars per day on rice importation while in 2018, imports have virtually stopped as the nation progresses toward achieving food security in major staple foods in the not too distant future. In areas of infrastructure development, the completion of abandoned critical projects took the front burner instead of the introduction of new ones, according to president's account. One hundred and sixteen (116), abandoned or uncompleted irrigation, dams, drainage and water supply across the six geo-political zones were identified by the Change government and were fixed during the period under review, while abandoned Power supply, Railway and Road constructions projects were not left out in the on-going intervention. In 2018 an additional 1,531 km of roads have been constructed while 1,008 km, have been rehabilitated. Construction work on the Second Niger Bridge is ongoing while Federal Government's major road infrastructure is also ongoing in every State of the federation through the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund and that Nigeria gained 24 places in the World Bank Ease of Doing Business rankings was clear indication that the economy was moving in the right direction!

OPPOSITION LEGISLATORS HAVE BETRAYED NIGERIANS!
Knowing full well that they were unfit, unprepared/unequipped educationally for the onerous legislative duties of making laws that would proffer positive impact on the security/social/economic lives of the masses, they opted to cover up for their lapses through constant confrontations with the Executive!
In respect of the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities/Polytechnics Lecturers Strike (ASUU/ASUP STRIKE), the current NASS legislators have played the ostrich to the agitations by lecturers of the tertiary institutions (universities/polytechnics), who have severally complained about decaying teaching and learning infrastructures through neglect of past administrations simply because their children were either studying abroad or in Nigerian private universities! Although the United Nations recommendation that 26% of the annual national budget of each country be appropriated to the Education Sector, had been reduced to a mere meddlesome counsel and nothing more because it was in the interest of the legislators if more money would accrue to them through less appropriation and as such would look the other way if the executive allotted an insignificant pittance of about 6% to the sector annually!

LABOUR UNIONS MUST NOT RESUME NATION-WIDE STRIKE ON 2ND JAN. 2019!
Legislators with fat bank accounts would care less whether the Executive presented a Bill for quick passage into law to support the N30, 000 national minimum wage concluded through a tripartite agreement for the least-worker in November 2018, because they seemed to have forgotten that without the sweat and labour of the diligent workers, they would not have been able to occupy their transient positions in the first instance! But, do they have any choice now than to co-operate and fast-track the minimum wage bill as soon as it was delivered to them by the Executive to avert any disruption of the up-coming 2019 electoral process? We also expect President Buhari to urgently forward the National Minimum Wage Bill to the legislators as he promised during the 2019 Budget presentation without the slightest delay and to also recall THE PEACE CORPS OF NIGERIA BILL FOR ASSENT! It is in the interest of boosting the security network through increase in workforce/strength and better assurance for protecting lives and properties of the TALKAWAS whom he had vouched to succour! Results of the 2019 General Elections would surely separate the WHEAT from the CHAFF! " A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.’’ (Prove 18:16)


I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, 08130669886, 08098194390. 08080243066. g-mail- dvdolufon@gmail.com.