₦airaland Forum

12 April 2016 | MINISTRY OF BUDGET AND NATIONAL PLANNING PRESS STATEMENT

In view of the recent controversies surrounding the 2016 budget, it has become necessary to state the following so as to set the facts straight:

The details of the 2016 budget were received by the President on Thursday, April 7, 2016.
Immediately this was received the President, desirous of signing the document into law as soon as possible, directed that copies should be made available to Heads of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government.

Ministers were asked to go through the details and give their reactions as it affects their respective Ministries so as to guide the President and enable him sign the Appropriation Bill into law.

That process is still on-going and no statement has been issued by the Executive on the matter, apart from the one by the Honourable Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohamnmed, to confirm that details of the budget are being examined. No final decision has been taken by the President and no other statement whatsoever has been issued on the matter.

With reference to the specific issue of the Calabar – Lagos rail project, we will like to state that the two railway projects, Lagos – Kano and the Calabar – Lagos, are very important projects of the present administration; and it was always the intention of the Executive to have both projects reflected in the budget submitted to the National Assembly.

However, it will be recalled that the Budget Office made a number of errors in the initial proposals of a number of ministries. These errors were all corrected by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning and the corrected versions were submitted to the relevant committees of the National Assembly. This included that of the Ministry of Transportation.

The amended Ministry of Transportation budget was accepted by the relevant committees and that was the version defended by the Minister of Transportation and his team.

It must be emphasized that the two rail projects are part of those for which the President is currently negotiating funding with the Chinese government.

The N60b provided in the budget for the Lagos – Kano and Calabar – Lagos rail lines, respectively, is counterpart funding, to support the Chinese financing for the projects.

These projects are part of the Strategic Implementation Plan of the government which was disclosed by the Minister of Budget and National Planning at the National Economic Council Retreat in March 2016, in the presence of state governors. They were also mentioned by the Vice President last week in Lagos at The Nation Newspaper’s First National Economic Forum.

It is hoped that with this clarification, the raging controversy over the Calabar – Lagos rail project will be put to rest.

Signed:
Akpandem James
Media Adviser to the Honourable Minister

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=463780423812692&id=448436902013711

Somebody must be held responsible for this flaw

Pdp and their corrupt elements is fighting back.
Shame on ben bruce,Akpabio and other niger delta senators and reps

Amechi and his dirty antics of stealing money by trick#after stealing so much from river state,its the turn of Ministry of transport to go bankrupt?

Why then did the northern oligarchy remove it from the budget?

hardeydara213:
Amechi and his dirty antics of stealing money by trick#after stealing so much from river state,its the turn of Ministry of transport to go bankrupt?

I take God beg you, no give yourself unnecessary headache oooo

Noted. Let there be an end to all of the hullabaloo and the needful be done. This is a very important project for Nigeria and the south as a whole. #BetterNigeria

LadyExcellency:
Why then did the northern oligarchy remove it from the budget?

where where the southern oligarchy when it was removed.
where where the southern representatives when this was done.

personally I felt south south senators should be aware of federal projects in their constituency at all times. It should have been one of the first things they should have looked at before the budget was passed to the president. bet some of em where busy tweeting!

GudluckIBB:
Somebody must be held responsible for this flaw

Pdp and their corrupt elements is fighting back.
Shame on ben bruce,Akpabio and other niger delta senators and reps

Real Shame, let me see what Ben Bruce will tweet in his defence.

LadyExcellency:
Why then did the northern oligarchy remove it from the budget?

This one reason y it was removed. You southerners or easterners spend too much time getting likes, shares and retweets online. stop d unnecessary wailing and ur allocations will be replicated. spend more time studying practical tins not writing useless jagons in d name of articles. If Buhari were gej, he would have sign dt ting into law b4 u guys wake up from ur twittings and slumber.

Anyhow e go be, that coastal rail line must happen, NASS "saboteurs" will fail! Amen!

No wonder Nass sponsored dia usual confused iPods Journalist to put pressure on PMB to sign it b4 d details arrive. its change and u guys will wail for long. it's slow and steady.

Let's hope this stops all the misinformation out there..

NASS removed Calabar rail because Amaechi did not intervene in Saraki CCT trial---Vanguard Newspaper

..........Vanguard learned, yesterday, that besides geopolitical interests, the removal of the Lagos – Calabar rail project from Budget 2016 was done partly to spite Amaechi supposedly for distancing himself from his former colleagues in the Senate, notably senators Bukola Saraki and Danjuma Goje. “Amaechi was told by associates in the Senate that Goje was not happy with him and that he had teamed up with the Buhari people against his former colleagues in the Governors’ Forum,” a Presidency official conversant with the issue said.

The source further revealed that on account of the information, Amaechi had to visit Goje to solicit his help on the passage of the budget proposals of the Ministry of Transportation. Amaechi and his key aides were part of the president’s delegation to China and efforts to reach his media assistant; Mr. Dave Iyofor were unsuccessful. A top presidency official stated that the Calabar-Lagos railway project alongside the Lagos – Kano rail project was included in the draft budget of the Ministry submitted to the Budget Office.

The official challenged the House of Representatives and the Senate to produce the report of their respective submissions to the NASS if they insist that the project was not included in the budget.

The officer said: “When the budget was collated by the Budget Office, and copies sent back to the respective ministries for perusal, it was noticed that the Coastal Rail Project was erroneously omitted at the compilation stage, although the total amount did not change

Read more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2016/04/senate-gives-buhari-final-warning-over-budget-2016/

Excerpt starting from paragraph 29 of the link provided in Vanguard newspaper.

LadyExcellency:
Why then did the northern oligarchy remove it from the budget?

because thier Job is to work for thier region.
It is our senators who failed us .

Although the senate ain't filled with Saints, This government is just full of uncooked lies spearheaded by Mr Lie Mohammed, Femi Adesina and The Dullard himself!

front page

Genius100:
Let's hope this stops all the misinformation out there..

Unfortunately, some people prefer the misinformation. They will never accept the truth no matter how many times this issue is clarified.

Amaechi is not the president, he has no write to submit an extra budget after the original one has been approved by the Senate. The rail plan was never in the main budget, APC lies may destroy the unity of this country of they continue like this

Pidggin:
Amaechi is not the president, he has no write to submit an extra budget after the original one has been approved by the Senate. The rail plan was never in the main budget, APC lies may destroy the unity of this country of they continue like this

it was the budget office that submitted it not Amaechi.

tuale4u:
it was the budget office that submitted it not Amaechi.

At what point was it submitted? the Senate which includes APC senators stated that it was not included in the budget.

Is it not the same budget that was padded and stolen before APC agreed that they were responsible for the missing budget? The executive is a big disgrace

Pidggin:
At what point was it submitted? the Senate which includes APC senators stated that it was not included in the budget.

Is it not the same budget that was padded and stolen before APC agreed that they were responsible for the missing budget? The executive is a big disgrace

Dude you bother to read the press release from the Ministry of Budget and Planning or are you just content to open mouth gboa gboa?

Pidggin:
At what point was it submitted? the Senate which includes APC senators stated that it was not included in the budget.

Is it not the same budget that was padded and stolen before APC agreed that they were responsible for the missing budget? The executive is a big disgrace

In futile effort to blame Buhari. Did you even read the statement from the Budget office??

Ministers were asked to go through the details and give their reactions as it affects their
respective Ministries so as to guide the President and enable him sign the Appropriation Bill into
law.
That process is still on-going and no statement has been issued by the Executive on the matter,
apart from the one by the Honourable Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohamnmed, to confirm
that details of the budget are being examined. No final decision has been taken by the President
and no other statement whatsoever has been issued on the matter.

all these zombie fools still blaming south south n south east senators, una no read this portion?
why exempt South West senators abi d rail go enter lagos by air?
why people still dey reason like fools in dis 21st century?

Just like yesterday

Lies upon lies