Ngige Explains Delays in Budget Assent By Buhari

*As FG empowers more youth under NDE

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has said that President Muhammadu Buhari may continue to withhold his assent on the 2016 budget.

That is unless all the observed omissions, controversial and grey areas in the budget were straightened out.

President Buhari had few weeks ago withheld assent to the budget as passed by the National Assembly which didn’t go down well with the legislature.

It fueled accusations of surreptitious removal of certain projects like the Lagos-Calabar rail-line against which the NASS became rife.

The Minister spoke at Amawbia, Anambra State over the weekend.

The occasion was the resettlement empowerment of about thirty graduates of the vocational skills Development programme.

The graduates were empowered with equipment and micro-credit loan of N20,000 each.

That will enable them to start off small businesses as fresh impetus to continue creating wealth, sustainable and decent jobs in the state. 

He said that with this round of empowerment, over 2, 800 new businesses would have been generated across 17 other states in the country where the graduate scheme took place simultaneously.

Ngige noted that even if there were any mistakes in the budget, the National Assembly should summon the courage to correct them without friction.

He called on well-meaning Nigerians to round the Federal Government in its quest to turn around the economy.

He pointed out that the Buhari administration sort of started afresh on all parameters.

He said they came on board when the price of crude oil that sold for above $100 per barrel suddenly nose-dived to about $40 per barrel.

That with almost every other sector of the economy going comatose.

In his words, “As it is today, oil subsidy has been removed and refineries were not working before Buhari came on board.

“It is like we are starting a fresh. 

“We borrowed money within the acceptable norms, to finance projects. 

“When you hear that Lagos-Calabar rail line is removed, you must know that where a child is crying and pointing, either the mother or father is there.

“There must be something there.

“The rail line is critical to the southern parts of Nigeria. 

“It will ease evacuation of goods and heavy equipment. We need it. But things must be done correctly.

“Now we have been hearing rumour about the Onitsha-Enugu express and we decided to review the project. 

“We have borrowed money to ensure that these projects are executed but the stories we are hearing are too many and that is why the project is stalled.

“There could be mistakes but the National Assembly should be man enough to correct them if noticed. 

“The President will not sign the budget until all mistakes are streamlined,” he said.

The minister disclosed that another set of 1, 850 persons were currently being trained nation-wide under the Community Based Training (CBT) scheme. 

This is in its efforts to expand the scope of skills and job creation nationwide.

And they would be resettled to start small scale businesses in the rural communities across the country within the next two months.

The CBT scheme he acknowledged was carefully designed to carter for the needs of the rural dwellers.

That is because the skill sets were selected based on demand and comparative advantages of the various communities, areas and states.

He added that 370 newly trained agricultural entrepreneurs under the NDE commercial farmers training projects had received soft loans.

The loans amounted to N37 million to start agro-businesses in each state of the federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja.

The acting Director of the National Directorate of Employment, Kunle Obayan said that the programme is gradually but effectively tackling youth unemployment across the country.

The traditional ruler of Awka, HRH Obi Gibson Nwosu in his prayers while blessing the kola nut beseeched Almighty God for more blessings on the nation. 

Other monarchs and top state and federal governments officials witnessed the presentation and empowerment.

From Chuks Collins, Awka

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