The 2021 Appropriation Bill: Debts, Excesses & Deductions
As we close the chapters on a daunting year, all eyes look to 2021. But all indications point to false hope. So far, the 2021 Appropriation Bill is riddled with discrepancies that question the Government’s priorities. Chief amongst which was a ₦2.4 million allocation for the feeding and refreshment for the Presidency. In other news, the 2021 budget features a removal of 2.5% healthcare security funds. The rationale was, however, lost on Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Director General, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), who urged the Government to reconsider.
He maintained that the funds are for public health emergencies, so removing them would be counterintuitive. To say nothing of the ravaging pandemic, which isn’t going anywhere but increasing. In fact, experts warn of a second wave. Not to mention Nigeria’s already overburdened health indices. Amid COVID-19, Nigerians battled Lassa Fever; and now Yellow Fever is reportedly claiming the lives of dozens.
Elsewhere, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) asked for ₦2 billion in the 2021 budget to furnish and partition its Abuja headquarters. While the Budget committee has not accented to this request, it speaks volumes to the priorities of government parastatals and an uncertain 2021. Already Dataphyte noted the 2021 Appropriation Bill relied on borrowings, which resonates with PwC’s analysis. The research institute remarked on the deficit present in the 2021 budget, estimated at 3.64% of GDP. And with a ₦5.20tn deficit, the Bill was 3% above the threshold set by the Fiscal responsibility Act.
EndSARS… far from it
The Federal government mandated Judiciary Panel in Lagos will review footage from the Lekki Concession Company. This revelation follows the events of forestalled investigation efforts of Panellists by the Army, and further protests of law enforcement indiscretions.
In truth, the events that followed the Lekki Massacre are reminiscent of a Telenovela, as Nigeria has become a theatre with our government as the actors. First, au contraire to credible evidence, the Lagos state governor cried foul- no one died. Soon, he changed tune, alleging the Army’s involvement. On the flip side, the Nigerian Armed Forces dismissed allegations of their involvement as fake news. Thereafter changing tunes, and in a shocking revelation and implicating the Lagos government.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Information was in the background clamouring for social media regulation and fining television stations for unprofessional coverage. A regulated social media space would prevent fake news, he claimed. But from the preceding, who has been peddling false information, a Dataphyte analysis questions.
Still on EndSARS, law enforcement in Lagos is reportedly missing at least 100 AK-47 and 2,600 pieces of ammunition. Earlier, Dataphyte analysed the loot from the demonstrations that rocked Africa’s most populous nation, estimated at almost ₦50 billion.
Other things to look out for:
Details from the government’s meeting with ASUU representatives; ASUU strike has gone on for seven months and left students of the Nigerian University uncertain. Ongoing training for the Special Weapon and Tactical team and its over 1200 members.EndSARS strategists reportedly make the “no-fly list,” with reports alleging CBN froze their accounts.