2018 budget cuts: NASS is Nigeria's greatest enemy - IYC

macfranc007 June 22, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Wale Akinola

- IYC has berated the NASS over its alterations in the 2018 budget

- President Buhari on Wednesday, June 20, signed into law 2018 budget and lamented that the NASS added its own 6,403 projects into the budget

- The group described the NASS' alterations as self-serving and against national interest

The Ijaw Youths Council (IYC) has described the alterations made to the 2018 Budget by the National Assembly as self-serving and against national interest.

The Nation reports that the group's national president, Eric Omare, in a statement said that the IYC took particular exception to the reduction of initial funds earmarked by the Executive for the takeoff of the Nigerian Maritime University (NMU), Okorenkoko and the all-important East/West Road, which are considered as key to the sustenance of peace in the Niger Delta.

NAIJ.com gathered that the youths said that the action of the National Assembly has depicted its members as insensitive, noting that the lawmakers had consistently showed itself as a gathering of people opposed to the well-being of people of the region.

It, however, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to waste no time in sending a supplementary budget to the National Assembly, which would make up for the mutilations in the original appropriation bill sent to the lawmakers.

IYC said: “We consider the action of the National Assembly as insensitive and retrogressive to the development of the country. It is utter selfishness for the National Assembly to reduce the budget proposal for key developmental initiatives and increased the budget for their personal cost when they are supposed to reduce their recurrent expenses.

"We condemn this action by the National Assembly. The National Assembly demonstrated selfishness and arrogated their personal interest over and above the national interest which they were elected to serve.

“It would be recalled that the immediate take-off of the Nigerian Maritime University, Delta State, was one of the key agreements reached between the leaders of the Niger Delta region and the federal government towards returning peace back to the region.

"It was in furtherance of this agreement that N5billion naira was budgeted for the take-off of the university which we the stakeholders in the Niger Delta region consider grossly inadequate because of the difficult terrain where the university is sited.

"The Nigeria Maritime University, Delta State, needs a lot of money for it to find its footing, especially at this initial stage of its existence in developing key physical infrastructure and engagement of qualified personnel to run the university.”

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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that the Muslim Right Concern (MURIC) on Thursday, June 21, in a statement described the content of the 2018 budget as a “rip off”.

President Muhammadu Buhari who signed the budget into law on Wednesday, June 20, queried the alterations made by the National Assembly, adding that they jerked up their budget by N14.5 billion and added over 6,000 projects to it.

#NotTooYoungToRun: Nigerian Youths React to President Buhari’s Gesture | - on NAIJ.com TV