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Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf is an Economist, a third timer in the House of Representatives, represents Kabba/Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency of Kogi State, former Chairman Reps Committee on Capital Market in the 8th Assembly, a former executive, National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, a vibrant member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in this chat with TheNewsGuru.com, TNG Regional Editor Emman Ovuakporie, spoke extensively on the 2021 Budget, the mechanics of legislative business and other sundry issues, excerpt.
Hear Him:
How will you assess the 2021 budget the president has laid before you.
Of a truth I have not seen anything different from the trajectory we have been observing. It is so unfortunate that this is the condition we’ve found ourselves, it’s another false narrative that is now unfortunately becoming the real life we are living. When Hitler, it is very wrong to quote such person, he said when a lie is continuously told it becomes true to the hearer because that is what you hear all the time.
There is no difference between this budget than when it was N5bn, 6billion under Jonathan. When you hear 13trillion but in reality our budget has not gone beyond those normal 5, 6billion naira budget. We are servicing debts of over 3trillion, these are debts incurred by this administration.
People will tell you that 16years of the former leadership in Nigeria was waste because they had money. Nigeria earning from crude, benchmark of crude rose to a hundred and something only between 2013 and 2015 but the impression they give the whole world is that throughout the 16years, in Obasanjo’s time it was 28 dollar at a time. So this government is even earning more.
But unfortunately because the foundation ab initio has been built on lies, that we found ourselves in this quagmire now in an attempt to be internationally correct, World Bank is forcing down the throat of the government policies that are anti people.
Anybody who is following world economy will know that World Bank history has never been good with third world countries. World Bank and IMF were set up after the second world war, their major mandate was the recovery of the economy of developing countries and the major principle of World Bank operation in third world countries is this economic principle of law of comparative advantage. That a country specialised in producing goods could be where he is better equipped, so they allocate to Africa as third world countries production of raw materials and SAP is a practical example.
When the intellectuals in Nigeria proffer a contrary opinion to SAP but because of our slavery intellectual mentality the leadership followed SAP.
SAP is the beginning of our crisis economically. IMF and World Bank came to apologize after they had killed our economy. IMF and World Bank is telling this government to increase fuel pump, to increase tariff on electricity, government has hands off certain aspects of electricity by giving it to DISCO’S, by giving government 700million dollars loan for what.
You are not the one directly in charge of the company you are taking loan for it. So they are making challenges deliberately to make us rely on their economy. It is very unfortunate that we have not had people, because you can be zealous without knowledge. So it is possible that people are zealous but people with sound knowledge, you have the capacity to look people in the eyes and tell them this is wrong. 3trillion plus to service debt in a budget of 13trillion.
Capital is about 3trillion, you are going to borrow about 5trillion naira so by implication you don’t have but you say you want to spend. Your projection was initially about 7trillion from revenue but now it has gone down to about 5trillion.
So if you have this servicing and local contractors and what have you, so your revenue projection is not even enough to meet your debt payment schedule. So we will be relying on speculation to fund the budget.
If I listened to the President he sounded patriotic but your intention should match your reality. Intention that is not matched with solid economic principle will fail. They have given to the president an idea but the tools to work the idea is not available.
The bilateral expectations of revenue is about 700billion, borrowing is 4.2trillion, deficit is 5.2trillion, revenue is about 3trillion plus. So these are not in any way aligning.
However I am of the opinion that if the National Assembly sits and do its own part because this idea has always been the executive except we are agreeing to the fact that we don’t have the requisite knowledge to do the right thing.
The intentions of the crafters of democracy is that if the executive miss it, you plug those holes and that is why in America there is what is called the 1974 Appropriation Act that says that if the executive present a budget to the National Assembly of America and they do not feel it meets the yearning of the American people, the Aational Assembly can produce a budget, so you are not a rubber stamp legislature, you are supposed to look at those things and rejig it.
I pray that we have the balls and the required knowledge to do the right thing.
I am of the opinion that you must not have a huge budget if you don’t have the resources. Truth is you saying I have one naira and I will budget with one naira, so that we know where we can help you.
The President made mention of presenting another finance bill before the national assembly soon. This finance bill came in 2019 and we saw the aftermath of the increase in VAT and electricity tariff. Are we going to see another upward review of such taxes because the President said it is going to serve as support towards raising finance for the budget.
You don’t need a soothsayer to know what is coming. Once you are shying away from taking actions you need to take, mop up, reduce leakages. Let me quote the president at Chattam house 2014, he said what do I need presidential air fleet for, these are the leakages we need to plug, has he done that, no.
I agree with the president that there are leakages we need to plug and as a nation if we do not do that we will continue to come with finance bill because you are already looking for where to get more money because of the pressure on you to do certain things and because there is pressure on you and you are blinded to one area so your focus will always be presenting finance bill.
Until holistically as a nation, we look at how resources are being managed and reduce the tendency to borrow.
I was sharing with my colleague, in Nigeria we have five aides and the Nigerian public believe it is too much but an average rep in America has nothing less than 50-60 aides, some have 100+.
All these bilateral funds that we are wasting into travels and what have you, if it is channeled towards such thing to provide the required support, it might not be finance by our national budget so as to be able to deal with this budget effectively our expertise from virtually every sector of the economy, because I am a legislator does not make me have all the knowledge.
Until we begin to streamline those things and cut cost where you need to cut cost these finance bills will be coming and because a man cannot give what he doesn’t have, you will be surprised too that some of them will pass.
I pray we will be able to provide the requisite knowledge and expertise and advice and I pray that they will take such advice. But as it is that finance bill is coming for such purpose.
And these are things that drive economy and this is where the CBN has come below expectations. You do not drive a mercantile economy and expect production. Mercantile economy is where you’re just looking for quick grasps.