With 56 days left for the life span of capital component of 2024 budget, former Special Adviser on Legislative Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang on Wednesday in Abuja, faulted its implementation with revenue generated in 2025, positing that affected projects ought to have been rolled into 2025 fiscal year and budgetary provisions .
Enang who expressed his displeasure with the practice while fielding questions from journalists covering the Senate at his Ibom Chambers, said it is inappropriate just as he declared that defected legislators at the National and State Houses of Assembly, have lost their seats in the eye of the law.
“Each year’s revenue should fund that year’s expenditure. Projects not completed in 2024 should have been rolled over and captured in the 2025 budgetary provisions.
“The reality is that the federal government does not have enough money to fund its responsibilities which is making it to borrow money for budget deficit funding.
“But the year of budget implementation and revenue generation supposed to have been same , not what we have at hand now where capital component of 2024 budget, is being implemented by revenue generated in 2025 due to extension of implementation of its life span from December 31st, 2024 to December 31st, 2025,” he said.
He, however, stated that the borrowing plans of the federal government, were in order , particularly those meant for funding budget deficit .
“To my knowledge, every budget — including those of 2024 and 2025 — has always contained a deficit, and provision for borrowing to fund that deficit. So, the current borrowings were anticipated in the Appropriation Act,” he said .
Defecting politicians and not the ruling All Progressives Party, APC, according to him, are the ones turning Nigeria into a one party state.
“Nigeria is not becoming a one-party state by any machination of the APC or the Tinubu administration. It is happening because other political parties have failed to survive as true institutions.
“Most of them exist for a week or two in the news and disappear. Some collapse under internal disputes; others are bought up or enjoined by court orders.
“So, what party do you expect people to belong to? Naturally, they gravitate toward the one that is functional.
“My only concern is the status of members of the National Assembly and state assemblies who defect without a declared divisions in their parties.
“The Constitution is clear: if there is no court-declared division, and you leave your party, you lose your seat — whether it is formally declared vacant or not.
“The Supreme Court has affirmed that such defectors must even refund all salaries and allowances collected after defection,” he said .