Budget: Stop Yearly Appropriation For Forks, Vehicles, Computers; They Don’t Expire, El-Rufai Slams FG

The lawmaker representing Kaduna state in the House of Representatives, Mohammed Bello El-Rufai has called on the federal government to stop appropriating funds for items such as spoons, forks, vehicles, and others every year.

The House member, the son of a former Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai said those items ‘don’t expire’ and as such should not be budgeted for yearly.

El-Rufai said the act does not show that government is serious about its austerity policy, which forces Nigerians to endure the current hardship to enjoy in the future as being promised by the administration of Bola Tinubu.

The administration has introduced serious economic measures which has pushed many Nigerians into serious poverty, even as it enjoined the citizens to endure more.

El-Rufai who made the remark, on Friday, during the House’s debate on the 2025 Appropriation Bill said the government must show that it’s prepared to make sacrificse for the country like Nigerian are currently doing.

The magazine reported that President Tinubu presented the 2025 financial estimates of N49.7 trillion before the Joint Session of the National Assembly on Thursday.

Speaking, the lawmaker said “My humbled contribution to the 2025 Appropriation Bill. The bill was deliberated upon at great length in a day that turned out to be very long. In summary, there are certain budget line items that Ministries and MDA’s should not be earmarking anymore.

“These include the new vehicles, furniture, stationeries and other equipments like computers and printers on an annual basis among others. These could last for years if managed well.

“As we continue to enact reforms that will shape Nigeria’s sustainable development, it is imperative for public officials in the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government to keep in mind that these are dire times for our people.

“We should be at the front of line of making the necessary sacrifices, not the citizens,” he said.

The administration has not been spared by not a few Nigerians for alleged ostentatious lifestyles of many government officials, despite the serious poverty in the country.