Senators of both the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party engaged in a war of words on Wednesday over the 2016 Budget.
The face-off came to the fore as the lawmakers began debate on the 2016 appropriation bill.
Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, who launched the first attack, described President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2016 Budget as “dead on arrival”.
While making his contribution to the debate on the budget on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, Abaribe also called for its withdrawal.
He said: “Mr President, my colleagues, this budget is indeed unique.
“After the budget presentation, the Finance Minister has never come to explain the details of the budget as it is normally done.”
But Senator Ahmad Lawan (APC) quickly replied his PDP colleague that since 1999 that he has been in National Assembly, this is the first time Nigeria’s budget would not depend on oil, adding that the budget will definitely take care of the need of 170 million Nigerians.
Lawan said: “The problem is and has always been corruption and corruption.
“For 16 years, Nigeria was subjected to impunity.
“This is the first time a budget is not depending on oil.
“It is an opportunity for this administration to make sure that we diversify the economy.”
Also making his contribution, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, called for the reduction of the budget by 30 per cent.
Ekweremadu said: “This budget is for all Nigerians and not for the PDP and APC.
“There are over 30 political parties in Nigeria.
“For the first time, I want to appeal that we should reduce this budget by 30 per cent.
“Whether we like it or not, we are going through a recession.
“Instead of financing the budget through borrowing, we should device a means to finance the budget by raising the revenue.
“We should reduce the cost of governance.
“We need to concentrate on existing projects.
“My consolation is that this parliament has the final say on it.
“We have N35 billion on information.
“Or we are providing for propaganda?”
Also speaking, Senator Babajide Omoworare said one thing about the budget presented by President Buhari is that it is not a budget that is focusing on how to share the national cake but how to bake it.
Omoworare lamented that it is disgraceful that the previous government led by the PDP could not encourage local investors in order to boost nation’s economy.
After exhaustive debate on the bill by the APC and PDP senators, the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, postponed the debate on the bill till Thursday.
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