Don’t use controversy to settle political scores, NLC tells FG

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has called on the Federal Government to revisit the budgetary system, do a soul-searching, as well as x-ray the budgetary system which has failed to address the needs of the Nigerian people.

Besides, the congress, on Thursday, warned that the current budget padding controversy should not be used to settle political scores or unduly weaken the National Assembly.

President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, declared that the budget padding controversy should rather avail “us an opportunity to revisit our budgetary system and the need for development planning.”

He stated that instead of going after individuals, “government should do a soul-search as well as x-ray the budgeting system that fails to address the needs of the people.”

In a statement entitled: “The budget padding controversy,” Comrade Wabba said: “the ongoing controversy over the padding of the 2016 budget is an incontrovertible evidence of the inherent weaknesses in our budgeting process and accordingly underscores the need for a thorough revisit.

“It also reveals the imperfections and the distrust in project identification/implementation system and consequent failure of the present model of capital budgeting without a development plan framework.

“It shows that projects are not implemented according to needs-value or priority, but who is behind which.”

The NLC president said: “A strong National Assembly is a necessity for a vibrant democracy and urged Nigerians to be slow to anger in matters of this nature, even as they have little or no reason to be too trusting of any political office holder, so that in the end, they do not end up victims of other peoples’ wars.”

He called for caution, “because how the issues in contention are resolved will shapen the direction of our democracy; deepen or weaken it.”