2017 budget ready ―Honourable Falake

A member of the National Assembly, Honourable James Faleke, yesterday declared that 2017 budget was ready and would soon be passed. Faleke made the disclosure at the All Progressives Congress, (APC) national secretariat, shortly after a closed door meeting he attended alongside other chieftains of the party on the crisis rocking its Kogi state chapter.

The APC chieftain who declined comment on the raging impasse in the State chapter of the party, attributed the delay in budget passage to deliberate efforts to ensure the unsavoury error of “budget padding.”

He said: “Budget process takes some time, unlike what we had before where you talk about budget padding or no padding. What the National Assembly tried to do this time is to do the needful once and for all with the budget details being submitted. The budget is ready, only to be considered at the floor as all committees have finished their work, probably this week.”

Appraising the performance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, ahead of May 29 Democracy Day, Honourable Falake said the administration has been doing its best to tackle the challenges confronting the nation.

“It is true that the party will be two years old by May 29 and I can tell you sincerely that the country has moved forward from what we used to have. Don’t forget that during the last regime things had almost collapsed and the economy that has collapsed is not easy to reform overnight and I think that what the President has done in the last two years is to have taken time to reform the economy which is now yielding fruits.

“I think if we didn’t have a drop in fuel price, maybe things would have been better off by now. In terms of security, we have done a lot, in terms of reorganizing our income, especially as regards what the federal government gets in form of revenue, I’m sure you will agree that we have done a lot. In terms of blocking loopholes and fighting corruption, you know that we have done a lot. You cannot imagine how much has been recovered from individuals.

“If that system had continued till now, this country would have collapsed and I want to give kudos to the President for having done that.

“There are still areas of improvement. In governance, you cannot have it all as it is a continuous cycle. I think we should thank God for President Muhammdu Buhari for coming as at the time he came after running for the office for about 12 years. Nigerians should just be patient and see the last two years of this government.”