2018 budget: Labour leader, acitvist knock FG over N149m allocation for food

A labour leader and an anti-corruption crusader have kicked against the allocation of the sum of N149million for foodstuff and catering materials in the Presidency in the 2018 budget.
The General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson, and the Executive Chairman, Coalition against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, described the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration’s allocation of such huge amount for foodstuffs and catering materials as reckless and wasteful.
They described such a budgetary provision as unacceptable and counter-productive, stressing that it did not conform to the anti-corruption stance and structural changes promised by the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government.
In the 2018 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly recently by President Buhari, the government allocated N98million and N50million for food for the President and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, respectively. This is apart from the N25.7million Buhari will be spending on refreshments and meals.
Also, according to the bill, Osinbajo will be spending N18million on refreshments and meals as well as N2.4million on cooking gas. For the Vice-President, N17.4million will be spent to purchase household and kitchen items that include crested plates, tea cups, cutleries and serving basin.
The President and the Vice President also allocated N968.4million for their foreign trips in 2018. While the 2018 Appropriation Bill indicates that Buhari alone will spend N751million on his foreign trips and N250million on local travels, Osinbajo is expected to spend N217million and N84million on his foreign and local trips, respectively.
Also, for the State House Headquarters, electricity charges will gulp N275million; telephone charges will cost N24million; while N67million will be spent on internet charges. N66million is budgeted for water rates, while sewage charges will gulp N45million.
But in his reaction, the General Secretary, NLC, said, “Such feeding allowance for the Presidency is unacceptable at a time most Nigerians spend less than a dollar on meals daily. We need to make structural changes and reduce the cost of governance and why do we need to feed a President that earns salary every month?”
Speaking in the same vein, CACOL executive chairman said it was Nigerians that deserved feeding allowances and not the Presidency.
“Feeding allowance for the Presidency is purely exploitation and an undeserved largesse, considering the hardship in the country. If the President is really determined to fight corruption, he should lead by example,” he said.