Revised Budget: CACOL Condemns FG For Cutting Health, UBE Votes

The Federal Government has been condemned by the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, (CACOL) for relegating the health and education sectors in the revised budget.

The chairman of CACOL, Debo Adeniran, noted that Nigeria has one of the highest maternal and mortality rates in the world as well as out of school children and the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government ought to pay more attention to health and education.

Adeniran in his statement said, “Why should we waste ₦27bn on building that is not showing any sign of distress? It is a misplaced priority and a total waste. The National Assembly doesn’t need repainting let alone renovation.”

“Nigeria is the poverty capital in the world despite being one of the most endowed countries. It is misplaced priorities that brought us to this sorry state we found ourselves.”

“Nigerians are dying from treatable and preventable diseases and the government thinks it is right to slash the health budget while maintaining the ₦27bn for the renovation? It is a shame.”

The Federal Government has revised the 2020 budget due to the impact of Coronavirus on the Nigeria economy.

The National Assembly Complex renovation budget was reduced to ₦27.7bn (a reduction of 25.1 per cent) in the proposed revised budget, while the Basic Health Care Provision Fund, was reduced by ₦44.4bn to ₦25.5bn, (a reduction of 42.5 per cent).

The revised budget also saw the Universal Basic Education fund reduced significantly from ₦111.7bn to ₦51.1bn, by more than 54.2 per cent, according to documents obtained by Dataphyte, an open data organisation.