Governor Ayade’s N1.3tn budget, academic exercise in futility ―APC

The Cross River State chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC) has described the proposed 2018 N1.3 trillion budget submitted to the State House of Assembly by the State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade as an academic exercise in futility.

In  statement signed by the APC State Public Secretary, Mens Ikpeme challenged the Governor to tell Cross Riverians the clear source of funding of the budget.

The APC  explained further that Ayade did not make distinctions between his modes of expenditure but merely went to the Cross River Assembly to lecture them on academic budget rather than present the state’s budget.

“The budget Gov Ayade had just done is an academic exercise in futility. He has not made distinctions between his modes of expenditure,He merely went to the Cross River Assembly to lecture them on academic budget rather than present the state’s budget. He made the state budget intellectual paper and not a financial working document”, the statement reads in part.

The party added that “Gov Ben Ayade announces budget of N 1.3 trillion without sources of funding, He said funding shall come from revenue generated from tolls made from Superhighway and Deep Sea Port. Deaf and Dumb know that the aforementioned projects are not realistic.These are projects that shall not see the light of day as legal documentations like environmental impact assessment documentations has not been perfected.

“Cross River State budget is the highest in Nigeria, Richer States like Lagos with over flowing revenue base do not have this type of huge budget exposure.

“Cross River State will never balance their budget on annual basis neither would it reflect on the state expenditure base. That means, Cross River State spendings next year shall exceed her non existent revenue income.
Other states prepare budgets based on their revenue income and apply same only to operating expenditures and not capital expenditures”.

Accusing the state assembly of being a rubber stamp to the Governor, the party alleged that already the legislators have been bribed with N10 million each to pass the party called naked and fraudulent budget.

“In his usual evasive fraudulent ways, he could not expose the states budget documents to the public nor has his dishonorable assembly RUBBER STAMP members has copies. They instead compromised by receiving N10million each for ease of passage of Ayade’s naked,corrupt and fraudulent budget.

“The state budget has no self evidence and therein lies the state’s problem in reviewing her annual expenditures that will make sense and can work.

“All Progresives Congress puts it that Gov Ben Ayade intends to spend a non-existent revenue source on a worthless presented paper documentation that makes a complete mockery of himself”.

APC averred that “Cross River State budget is being touted by proponents that is silent on distinctions between operating and capital expenditures, silent on distinction between on- budget and off – budget expenditures and silent on mandated expenditures.

“Gov Ayade’s kinetic CRYSTALISATION budget is BAD. In short, it is at best poorly written, poorly presented ,incomplete and at worse naive and inconceived. Ayade knows that his days are numbered in government house that is why he wants to steal as much as he possibly can using Frank and other willing conduits as usual”