By Tordue Salem, Chioma Obinna & Gabriel Olawale
ABUJA— DESPITE public outcry, the House of Representatives, yesterday, approved a presidential proposal to spend N10bilion to prepare for the nation’s 50 Independence celebrations.

Besides, members of the lower chamber variously described the projections in the N4.3trillion budget passed by the National Assembly since April,  as “unrealizable” and “in dire straits.”

The Independence celebration proposal was contained in a  N639 billion 2010 Supplementary Appropriation Bill sent recently by President Goodluck Jonathan to the two chambers of the National Assembly.

The supplementary budget proposal which is to be drawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, proposes N507.125 billion as additional recurrent (Non-Debt) Expenditure, while a balance of N132.698 billion is for the contribution to the Development Fund for Additional Capital Expenditure for the year ending December 31, 2010.

Minority Leader of the House, Muhammed Ali Ndume, in a failed attempt to shoot down the N10billion proposal for  through a “Motion of Urgent National Importance”, insisted that the budget was a waste.

Executive jamboree

Ndume, who described the submission of N10billion as estimates on an issue as ceremonious as independence day celebration as unacceptable, argued: “We cannot sit here as lawmakers for four years, and watch the Executive spend N10billion for a jamboree that does not help the common man.

People are dying of hunger all over the country; we do  not have roads, there is no water for people to drink, there are no hospitals, and our President is more interested in spending N10billion on Nigeria at 50.

“I want to bring to the attention of the House that the Executive has already started spending this money, that we are yet to appropriate. If you look at today’s(yesterday’s) papers, they say a committee on the celebrations is already throwing a jamboree in London, and we must not take this lightly.”

His plea, however, fell on deaf ears, as majority of the members backed the N10billion proposal after Speaker Dimeji Bankole put it to vote, saying “Honourable members decide whether this is urgent enough to be approved or not.”

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has described as unrealizable, a budget of N4.3trillion for the 2010 fiscal year, saying the budget fell short of all its projections, going by the variations in oil price and others things.

Chairman, House Committee on Legislative Budgeting and Research, Habib Fashinro, AC, Etiosa-Lagos, in his contribution to a Bill to amend the 2010 Appropriation Act and Parts A, B, C and D of the Schedule, 2010, said there was need for review of the budget process to curb the sad “case of un-remitted funds by agencies and ministries of government.”

Chairman, House Committee on Finance, John Enoh, PDP, Obubra-Cross River, in his submission, said the “country is in dire straits, because there is a five per cent shortfall in our Gross Domestic Product, GDP.”

Igo Aguma, PDP, Port Harcourt1-Rivers, Chairman Committee on Gas in his submission, even dismissed the budget as another exercise in futility, while C.I.D Maduabum in a more forthright tone, called on the House to let the Bill scale second reading, to allow the House go into the real reasons why the budget had incurred a deficit of over N1trillion and was falling flat on its projections.

Budget  insensitive — ActionAid Nigeria

Meantime, the Federal Government’s plan to spend N10 billion had been described by ActionAid Nigeria as “an exhibition of insensitivity to the plight of many poor Nigerians who form the larger part of the population.”

In a statement in Lagos, the Country Director of ActionAid Nigeria, Dr. Hussaini Abdu said:  “ActionAid feels concerned that in a country where millions of her citizens are living in abject poverty, where many poor people, especially children are hungry, such huge amount of money is being spent on jubilee anniversary.”