Category: Politics

Former Oyo State governor and leader of the Accord Party Senator Rashidi Ladoja spoke with BISI OLADELE on his grievances against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), relationship with Governor Abiola Ajimobi, 2015 elections and other partisan issues.

Since you were elected the governor of Oyo State in 2003, you have been a factor in Oyo State politics. What is the magic?

I joined politics in order to serve the people of Oyo State and I did it to the best of my ability and the people of the state appreciated and are still appreciating that I served them when I had the opportunity of serving them. What has been keeping me going is the love of the people I once served and the love of God. So, that is the magic. I served the people very well, the people appreciated it and they are still appreciating it.

Why did you not re-contest in 2007 and only came back to contest in 2011?

In 2007, it was a complicated issue. I got an offer to run for the seat, but along the line, I declined the offer. I decided to stay in PDP, and before I came back from my impeachment, PDP had already finished their congress and they could not change their candidate because of me. The other offer I had was to contest under another party, which I declined.

But you still came back in 2011 to contest under the platform of another party.  What was it that did not favour you in PDP in 2007, but which favored you four years later?

Do not forget that the dramatist personae at that time is different from that of 2011. In 2007, at that time, the former President was behind my impeachment. You can remember that t I spent spent six months outside, from November to May. The House of Assembly was occupied by thugs and it was desecrated. The garrison commander was backed by the then President. I know the people of Oyo State wanted me back, but the atmosphere was not favourable for my return. I also know that, if I contested the election, it would not be free and fair and I would be rigged out. I just had to allow those issues to be a thing of the past and move on with my life. My decision not to contest in 2007 was not because I did not want to contest, but it was because the political climate in the state then was not conducive for me as a person, and having survived till 2011, I discovered that the people of this state still wanted my service.

What particularly will you say that gave you the confidence that it was really a time for you to contest again then?

There is a difference between Obasanjo as a sitting President and an ex-President. President Jonathan still believes in rule of law, but Obasanjo does not. He believes he can get whatever he wants to get at all costs, but President Jonathan promised us that our votes would count and our votes counted. Everybody knows that Obasanjo gave himself out to be manipulated and was humiliated out of office. Prof. Attairu Jega promised us that our votes would count and we all saw the difference.

Do you foresee an improvement in 2015 elections?

Prof. Jega promised us and he delivered in 2011 and the President also promised to allow Jega to work and, if we Nigerians also decide that we want him to succeed, he will succeed only if he can conduct all the elections in one day. They should conduct all the elections in one day. That will not give any advantage to anybody. If they cannot conduct it in one day, they should conduct the governorship and Houses of Assembly in the same day and they can use different strategies to do this in a day. If they should conduct it in one day, it will even be cheaper for the country. They should start it early and the remaining thing to do is just collation. So, that will even make the election to be free and fair and there will not be any record of ballot snatching, if it is conducted in one day.

What do you think about the electronic voting in Nigeria?

It will not make much difference. The main thing is the people in charge. If the INEC believes it is capable of using it, then, nothing stops Nigeria from using that same technique for their voting. The level of illiteracy will not affect it. It is very simple to operate. The electorate will only put their finger on the candidate they want. The only problem is that, if you make a mistake, you cannot cancel it. For example, if you want to vote for Accord Party and you mistakenly vote for another party, you cannot correct yourself again and even, if it is a ballot paper, the same thing occurs. It means you have destroyed the paper. Nigerians are not so ignorant that they will not be able to cope with the electronic voting method and the INEC will also need to give them enough orientation about the voting system. It will also save money. The only problem people might be complaining about is our epileptic power supply because electronic voting uses electricity. But the INEC can adjust on that and meet up with every challenge involved.

What is the state of the alliance between Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Accord Party in Oyo State?

Things have not fallen apart. It is just a question of the ACN not fulfilling its own side of the bargaining, May be, I should say the governor in question. When he came to us, we agreed and he said we were going to have 20 per cent of all the positions in his government. Today, we have 20 commissioners and we have two commissioners there and not four. Governor Ajimobi also promised to allow us to present the caretaker committee chairmen in the councils where we led in the governorship election. He tried to give us two after one and half years and sacked one of them after three months. These are not part of the bargaining. It is either he fulfils the agreement or we should not make an agreement at all. We had a letter of an agreement and if he knew that he would not fulfill it, he should have told us that he was sorry that he just made the agreement in order to stabilise his government and not to satisfy it. But all along, he was telling us that his leader, Alhaji Lam Adesina, of blessed memory, was not happy with the alliance. But now Baba Lam is dead and he should have fulfilled it.

It has been alleged the agreement was between you and Ajimobi, not between Accord and the ACN …

Who is the leader of the party? Is he not the governor? Is he now telling us that he did not inform his party before coming to sign an agreement with us? He told me that he had earlier informed his party. We did not form an alliance with Ajimobi’s party, but we are only an adviser to his government.

What is the position of the Accord Party in this unfulfilled ‘agreement’ ?

We are still waiting for the governor to fulfill it. That is our position.

It was reported that you have been criticizing the urban renewal projects of this government and the ACN has equally been replying you that it was wrong for you to criticize a government you are part of. What is your stake on this?

What we are saying is the truth. A government must have a human face. Government is all about the welfare of the people. It is not just about building and demolishing alone; it is about the welfare of the people and people should be the number one concern of the government. When you are now destroying other people’s means of livelihood, it is not acceptable. He said these people are selling on the road. He forgets that these old people selling on the street use this to cater for their children’s education up to the university level. But now, he has denied them of their means of livelihood and you are now saying the government will build them a market and not that he has built it. So, what are they going to be eating for the next six months when the markets will be constructed? We are not saying he should not beautify the city, but he should find an alternative for these people before doing that. These people have a right to their livelihood. Do whatever you want to do in a way that will give minimal comfort for this people. The government has the right to beautify, but should do it in a way that will please the people. You have to understand the thinking of our people. Many of them went to borrow money to build those shops and tents in order to fend for their children. I do not have any problem with Ajimobi’s government. All I am saying is that whatever he is doing must put first in mind the plight of its citizens.

But government stands on the ground that Ibadan, for so long, has been known to be a very dirty city and in view of climate change, which causes floods, it said that shops constructed on flood planes…

How much climate change does Oyo State contribute to climate change in Nigeria and the world in general? When you are talking about climate change, you are talking about industrialised nations of the world. They are the ones that are contributing a lot of emissions into the atmosphere. How many companies do we have in Oyo State? If it’s because of the flooding, I understand. During our own government, we instructed the local councils to clear their drainages and even we decided to dredge the rivers in Ogunpa, Ogbomosho and Oyo.  All other ones were left to the local governments. Also, the habit of our people dumping refuse into the rivers is also to be blamed, but that does not mean that those people do not have a right to their source of livelihood. He should have built the markets before demolishing their shops. Bola Ige built shops and relocated the traders to New Gbagi Market after it has been built. Illegal structures are not an excuse to deprive people of their means of survival. That is what we are saying. How many illegal immigrants are in America? Are they not making efforts now to accommodate them? Why didn’t President Obama just wake up in a day and decide that they should all be sent away? Rather, he is trying to look for a way to accommodate them because he knows that if he does not, America’s economy will collapse. Government is about the people and not about building edifice. I did it for four years and there was no record of flooding in this state then because we ensured that as from January we have to start clearing all the rivers, streams and drainages

Recently, the state government called on the EFCC to expedite the case of corruption against you and former governor Alao-Akala. What do you think about that?

I do not think I have any case with EFCC and I do not like talking about it because the case is still in court. Unfortunately, if the government decides that they should not look at what the law says before they make pronouncement, I do not see it as anti-Ladoja, but I just want to remind them that the people who started it have failed, and they started it not because Ladoja stole any money. I am talking about Akala’s government, but because they are uncomfortable, and just only want to destroy Ladoja’s clean image. Akala, been an ex-police man, used his influence to use Mrs Farida Waziri to start the case then. Akala later apologised to me that he made a wrong decision then and Dotun Oyelade also apologised to me. So, nobody should start talking about the case because it is between me and the court of law.

What is your present relationship with former governor Alao-Akala and PDP?

My relationship with Alao-Akala is very good; he is my younger brother. My life in politics does not have anything to do with my personal relationship with other people. I can be your friend and we will not be in the same party. I have forgotten about what Akala did to me because that is gone for good. He has been forgiven because he has come to ask for forgiveness. If I do not forgive easily, would I have allow Obasanjo to come to my house? But it was unfortunate enough that Baba Adedibu did not ask for my forgiveness before he died, but all the same, everybody that participated in my impeachment saga, Bode George, the honouurable members, including my brother, Bolaji Ayorinde, was in my house some days ago. They have been forgiven. As far as I am concerned I do not keep malice with anybody.

We learnt that the PDP is trying to drag you back to become the secretary of the party. How true is it?

I do not know where the news is coming from because, as far as I am concerned, I have closed the issue with the PDP negotiation long time ago. If they want to open it again, they can. But they have not informed me personally about their plans and I think it is the work of some mischief makers from PDP who are seeing the way some of their members are crossing to Accord Party and want to use that news to stop them, that Ladoja is coming back to PDP. It can also come from another opposition party because their people are defecting to our party and want to use that as a distraction for them to stay and see Ladoja as an inconsistent man. I have said it over and over again that it is the make-up of some mischief makers and I do not have any parley with PDP for now.

What is the most important condition that can make you go back to PDP?

I have never considered it. If the situation does not arise, why do I need to disturb myself to think about returning? So far, it is not on my mind.

What advice do you have for Governor Ajimobi?

He should think deeply on how to implement policies that will affect the citizens of the state positively. He cannot turn Ibadan to London in a day. Even in London, if you come out of any train station, you will find fruit sellers at the rail sides selling their wares. You find people selling clothes, flowers and others and the government is accommodating them. So, as far as am concerned, every government must know that the essence of governance is the people. Before he takes any action, his decision must have the interest of the people at heart.

What advice do you have for President Goodluck Jonathan in view of the current challenges facing Nigeria?

As far as I am concerned on electoral issues, he has got my pass mark. On our economy, he has not gotten it right yet. In power sector, we are not yet where we are going because people still want to see uninterrupted power supply in the homes, businesses and worship centres. Imagine the amount of money spent by artisans on generating sets. He should tackle the problem of insecurity ravaging the country.

If you look back at your four years in office, is there anything you would do differently, if you have another opportunity to be governor?

There will be nothing I would do differently. I will still maintain that every child has the right to go to school, I will still maintain that everybody must have water. I will still empower the farmers with tractors. So, I do not see anything I would do differently, if I am given the chance. All I will always do is to improve people’s means of livelihood.

Are you aspiring for governorship race in 2015?

I do not know yet and God has not directed me towards that. 2015 is still far. All I can say is that by the grace of God, there will be an Accord Party candidate in 2015. It is not part of our agreement to dissolve Accord Party into ACN. If ACN members believe that they want to defect to our party, why should that bring any fight between us? Politics is simple. Those of us that were in SDP then later went to PDP. Even, Alhaji Lam Adesina was in SDP with me. So, in 2015, there will be an Accord Party candidate for the governorship seat in Oyo State and who that candidate will be, I do not know. It will be based on the party’s decision and, if it is the party’s wish that Ladoja should contest then, there is no problem. But do not forget that there are many eligible candidates in our party who are capable of ruling Oyo State effectively.

House of Representatives member federal Hon. Solomon Adeola has said that the All Progressive Congress(APC) will salvage the economy and save the country from collapse.

Adeola, who represents Alimosho Constituency,said that the new party will dislodge the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) because it has better programmes for the masses.

The lawmaker spoke with reporters in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, shortly after delivering a lecture at a ceremony organised by the Country Club of Abeokuta.

A businesssman, Otunba Rotimi Daramola, emerged the pioneer President of the club at the ceremony chaired by the Osile of Oke- Ona Egba, Oba Adedapo Tejuoso.

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) legislator maintained that APC has a clear mission, urging the people to embrace it.

Adeola said: “We need change and the only thing Nigerians crave for now is change. The change is here; that is the All Progressive Congress(APC). All Nigerians have to is to embrace it. I strongly feel that, with theAPC and its its clear mission to salvage Nigeria, it is a better option.

“Nigerians are watching; they have seen a party in government at the centre for nearly 16 years and have equally seen the best it could offer. Nigerians deserve a change. The only change Nigerians are yearning for is the APC”.

Adeola, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts, said the unfolding events have silenced pessimists who had thought the merger of opposition parties in the country was an impossible task.

A group, ‘Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation (AGF)’ has advised former Oyo State Governor Rashidi Ladoja to desist from making uncomplimentary remarks about Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

The group urged Senator Ladoja to acknowledge the achievements of the administration in the last two years, instead of peddling falsehood. The group recalled that Senator Ladoja could not perform to expectation when he was in the saddle.

AGF faulted the claim by the former governor that he is popular, stressing that a popular candidate would not have lost the governorship to the incumbent governor.

In a statement, the Oyo State Coordinator of the group, Alhaji Folawiyo Bello, said: “Senator Ladoja did not in any way contribute to the electoral success of Senator Ajimobi as some of his loyalists are saying. If not for the magnanimity of the present administration, he wouldn’t have extended a hand of fellowship to the Accord Party members.

“We wonder why Ladoja would have the moral standing to criticise a government he benefits from. We therefore, advise the Accord leader to drop the garb of arrogance and selfishness and allow the performing administration to render transformational services to the people of the state.

“We affirm the foundation’s belief in the Ajimobi Administration that he has been doing well in all areas of human development and infrastructure renewal in the state. We are satisfied with the state of infrastructure; road construction, renovation of schools, environmental sanitation, and crime reduction. That shows that Oyo State is on the threshold of history and reclaiming its lost glory.

Former Minister of Police Affairs Dr Ibrahim Lame is a member of the Central Working Committee of Northeast Forum for Unity and Development (NEFUD). He was the senatorial candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for Bauchi South District in the 2011 election. In this interview with Assistant Editor AUGUSTINE AVWODE, he speaks on national insecurity, the birth of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and other issues.

How is the North faring in the face of gross insecurity and threat to its peace?

The socio-economic life here has been seriously affected by the instability and lack of peace.The areas affected are Maiduguri in Borno State and Damaturu in Yobe State. But in other parts of the Northeast, life is moving on gradually. In recent times, economic and social activities are coming up.

Are you saying that the tension is going down?

Yes, the tension is no longer as high. People are living there; people still go about their normal businesses, but that is not to say that this is what we want for the economic and social life of the people.

NEFUD, in an advertorial, extolled the visit of the 10 governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Did the visit come to you as a surprise?

To me as a person, it did not come as a surprise because I know most of the governors. And I know their views about life and I know their commitment to justice and accountability. I know their thinking about what leadership should do and how leadership should behave. So, what they did has increased my confidence in them and the future of this country because their coming together is showing to Nigerians that there is still hope, that there are leaders who will address and show to the people that they care, that it is no longer going to be business as usual and that there is going to be a new approach to the way of doing things. That there is going to be people-oriented administration where there will be accountability. In other words, they are saying that a government that will respond to the material requirements and necessities of the people of Nigeria. So, it did not come to me as a surprise. People like us who are aware of why this group is coming up are not surprised. We are only happy that it came at the time it came.

The major problem in the zone is insecurity, which is fueled by the activities of Boko Haram. What do you think can be done to stem the crisis?

Leadership must identify itself with the issues at stake; leadership must not claim that it would not do anything, leadership must be able to sit down and understand what the problem is. And I believe dialogue is key. We have to dialogue with the people to know the remote and immediate causes of the issues that brought about the situation. For instance, the issue of inequality, the issue of youth unemployment, the issue of the economy and the issue of transparency in leadership must be addressed because what is happening is that people see their leaders living in affluence, abusing the privileges given to them without anything happening to them. This is a serious issue and people don’t seem to have anywhere to go to for justice. I think this is part of it.

You said people are living in affluence and abusing privileges and going free. Do you think we are doing enough to fight the scourge?

I believe the issues are there for everybody to see. And I am saying, unless we honestly tackle this issue, we won’t make any headway. Tackling corruption requires that you should be transparent. People must see that you are really fighting corruption. It is not enough to announce that we are fighting corruption. It must be seen to being fought. And when people see that corruption is being fought and development is taking place, everybody will be happy. There is enough to share in this country. The resources we have is enough to go round; to satisfy the yearnings of everybody. Monopolizing resources by few individuals is dangerous for any society. The modern world does not engage in corruption, the modern world engages in production and distribution of resources. We don’t hoard resources. What we do in Nigeria is that the little we produce, we hoard it. We don’t put it into the system to generate other resources for the people. So, we must do what the world is doing; we must stop hoarding our resources.

Many people have kicked against amnesty for Boko Haram. As a leader from the North, where do you stand?

I support the idea of amnesty for Boko Haram. I think it is a good suggestion because, when you are losing over 3000 people in a single area, then, you must necessarily try to stop it and I think amnesty will help to stop it. I think we must stop the bloodshed now. Let us see those being killed as not Muslims or Christians. They are first and foremost Nigerians and we all owe it a duty to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians. And, if amnesty to these people will help, I think we should encourage it.

As a chieftain of the ACN, how would you describe the visit of APC governors?

What the visit of the APC governors has shown is that a new vision of leadership is emerging in Nigeria; a new approach to governance is emerging. It is not going to be business as usual. They demonstrated that they will be in government to respond to the yearnings and aspirations of people. To address the developmental issues of the people, and to find answers to the questions of widespread corruption, why there is no basic infrastructure, why there is unemployment, why can’t we diversify our economy so that agriculture, solid mineral and oil can co-exist and free Nigerians to use their God-given potentials? Why should we be fighting about oil and oil all the time? Why should we neglect the development of our human resources? But these are what the APC governors are now telling Nigerians that we have seen it all, we have been part of the process, but we believe we cannot continue like that; and that to develop, we must give it a different approach. What we have now is low quality leadership. We must seek to improve the quality of leadership in this country.

As a former Minister for Police Affairs, what is your opinion on state police?

I have always supported state police and I still believe we need to have state police. I believe that in a federal arrangement, operating under a federal constitution, if you want to succeed, you must give the states the opportunity to provide security for their own people. Fundamentally, I believe that the state police must be allowed to co-exist with the national police. You can’t have a single police in a country like Nigeria. There should be multi-security outfits. And state police is fundamental to the survival of any federal arrangement. So, I support state police.

The opposition to the question of state police is coming from the northern governors. Do you find this funny?

I am a northerner and I believe there are many northerners who hold the same view as I hold. The opposition is not northern, get that right; the opposition is a reflection of the quality of leadership, the quality of thinking. That was what I said earlier. Leaders who see their functions from narrow perspectives will never get it right because they have reduced their responsibilities to mere award of contracts, building of political empire and thinking that is leadership. That is not leadership. Leadership is about doing the correct thing, what the constitution demands of you towards the society. In this case, a federal arrangement presupposes that the federating units should leverage on how to run their own societies, and how to run their own system. So, I believe that state police is what every right thinking Nigerian should encourage.

The bill for the establishment of an independent National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) has scaled the second reading in the  House of Representatives. Victor Oluwasegun and Dele Anofi examine the benefits of the bill to the country. 

Since 2000, budget row has been a recurring decimal. The bickering over the passage of the budget between the executive and legislature has always enraged Nigerians. Apart from the delay in passing the annual appropriation, its poor implementation is worrisome.

For over a month, President Goodluck Jonathan held on to the 2013 budget and refused to sign it into law. According to him, there were contentious areas in the budget which should be resolved before appending his signature to the bill.

The President agreed to sign the budget, following threats by the House of Representatives to over turn the President’s assent.

However, the era of executive/legislative face-off over budgetary matters may be coming to an end. The House of Representatives is proposing establishement of the National Assembly Budget and Research Office. The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, Hon. Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, said that when the National Assembly Budget and Research Office (NABRO) bill eventually becomes law, the budget process would be reformed.

Presenting the NABRO bill on the floor of the House last week, Bamidele said the bill would provide the National Assembly with “the objective, timely and non-partisan analysis needed for economic and budget decisions and information and estimates required for use in the budget process”.

The legislator pointed out that the non-availability of independent and detailed economic and budgetary analysis has continually limited the degree to which budget reviews and legislative oversight responsibilities could be carried out by the National Assembly.

The bill spelt out NABRO’s functions. It will provide independent, unbiased and non-partisan analysis of the executive’s annual budget estimates

The proposed office will also provide independent unbiased analysis of the budget of the National Assembly and assist all the committees of the National Assembly in developing their annual budgets.

NABRO will rovide independent and continuous review and monitoring of existing and proposed programme and budgets of the Federal Government.

It is also expected to provide assistance to all the committees in both Houses of the National Assembly with information, which will assist the committees in the discharge of their functions.

In addition, it will provide the analysis of the economic implications on the private sector, the budgetary and financial implication on states and local governmemts of any proposed legislation when so required by any committee of the National Assembly.

Another function of the NABRO, when it becomes law, is to prepare and present to the National Assembly periodic forecasts of economic trends and alternative fiscal policies with regards to the Federal Government’s money bills brought before the National Assembly.

According to Bamidele, the most important power and source of influence for any legislature is the ability to control public funds. He said the implication is that the legislature is the most influential organ of government, as far as decisions on the revenue and expenditure are concerned.

“The foregoing therefore, establishes that the appropriation bill is one of the legislations that a parliament must, albeit, carry out. It is in the process of performing this important legislative function that the legislature requires accurate and timely data and information to be able to participate effectively in the appropriation process”, he added.

Bamidele said that, when democracy was restored in 1999, the legislature inherited minimum infrastructure and non-professional and ill-equipped bureaucracy.

“Having been encumbered by lack of capacity arising from its infancy and dearth of expertise and experience, the required information for revenue forecasts and socio-economic predictions are not available to the parliament.

“ It is therefore, difficult for its mediators (Appropriation and Finance Committees) to canvass any stringent position on revenue assumptions and the effects of expenditure outlays on the economy”, he stressed.

The legislator said the establishment of the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) will provide the National Assembly with the required information to guide its budgetary and economic-oriented decision making processes.

But many are skeptical about the optimism expressed by the lawmaker that the era of bickering is over. In the first place, the Legislative Budget and Research Committee of the House was instrumental to the arrival of the House at a different benchmark of $80 per barrel, which was at variance with the executive’s target of $75 for the 2013 budget.

The decision, said the House, was arrived at through an “objective, timely and non-partisan analysis.” But the executive disagreed initially, saying that the amount it proposed was in order. Irked by the National Assembly’s insistence, President Jonathan withheld his assent.

According to analysts, there will always be areas of agreement and disagreement between the executive and legislature over budget proposals.

In the past few years, the inclusion or non-inclusion of constituency projects . has always been a source of conflict between the executive and the legislature. To the legislators, there are gaps in the budget, and to bridge them, there should be constituency projects. “These constituency projects are not meant for the legislators; they are meant for the grassroots people represented by them. The lawmakers do not handle the funds for the projects”, said Hon. Lanre Odubote, a House of Representatives members from Epe.

Bamidele’s committee, in its 2012 mid- year report on budget implementation, lamented the yearly budget crisis. According to the committee, “budgeting in Nigeria had always been controversial since the advent of democracy and this had been the cause of rift between the executive and the legislature. The issue of implementation had been stories of woes as the executive often failed to implement the budget due to reasons known to it.

The committee further states that the implementation of the Appropriation Acts has always been fortuitous and bedeviled by confusion, accusations and abandonment of projects, which has left the country underdeveloped since 1999.

Many believe that the NABRO bill will be a remedy for the rifts and recriminations that has always trailed the ritual of annual budget preparation.

Bamidele said budget rows can be averted, if the right steps and decisions are taken. My passion as I assumed office as Chairman, House Committee on Legislative Budget and Research, was to do everything possible at the level of the committee and work with the leadership of the House to ensure that the National Assembly Budget and Research Office did not only commence work, but in the real sense of it, become relevant”.

He said the proposed office will become a resource centre for the members of the National Assembly.

A legislator, Hon. Morouf Akinderu-Fatai, who represents Oshodi/Isolo Constituency, said the Committee on Legislative Budget has been a kind of engine room for the House of Representatives, adding that it is instrumental to the paradigm shift in budget scrutiny.

But will the new bill avert the conditions that fuel the the frosty relationship between the two organs of government? Will the NABRO bill resolve the issue of fundamental lapses observable in the implementation of annual budgets?

The committee, which reflected on the poor budget implementation, observed that the “late submission, revised bill submission, NASS intervention, alleged mutilation, funding of budget before implementation, and selective implementation of budget are the obstacles to proper implementation?.

Would all these be a thing of the past this year?