Senate president, Bukola Saraki has reportedly criticised the 2019 budget presented by the President, Muhammadu Buhari by stating that it has no hope for Nigerians.
According to report, this statement was made at an interactive session between the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Abuja.
He said: “Yesterday, we all heard the 2019 budget, that is a budget that has no hope for anybody because if you look at the statistics and the figures there’s poverty, if you look at the figures based on revenues that are coming in, there is nothing left, so where’s the future?
“There must be an alternative and that is what we hope that by this evening, speaking to our candidate and vice presidential candidate, not based on sentiments, we are not voting on sentiments.
“How is your life going to be better? Which party offers you a better future because we see you as those who are patriotic and committed? It’s not about what you’ll get today. It’s about the great country.”
According to Saraki, the budget presented by the president on Wednesday, December 19 has no future because the statistics does not indicate how it will be funded.
He went on to say that anyone who wants to lead the country should be able to let the people know what he intends to do and added that Buhari will not attend the debate.
He said “This is an interactive session; I’m not sure whether the other political parties will give you an opportunity like this to ask them any question. I’m told that one has debated and you already know the answer to that debate. On the second one, I’m very sure he’s not going to debate. So how do you assess somebody who is not ready to tell you what he’s going to do?
“Those days are gone, my good people, the future of this country, a country that leads the continent, that is not the example we want to set for this continent. The whole world is going in a direction, if you’re seeking a position, you must come and tell people what you want to do, you must sit down and they’ll ask you questions and that is why we’re here.
“Today is your day, we will sit down and take questions, I hope at the end of the exercise you will stand up and say yes this is the team that will secure Nigeria, this is the team that will unite Nigeria, this is the team that will fight the poverty in town and bring a brighter future.
