Senator representing Borno South, Ali Ndume, has condemned the yearly recurrent expenditure component of the national budget of the Federal Government.
The lawmaker described as worrisome and dangerous the money being paid as personnel and overhead costs despite an embargo placed on employment by President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
Ndume threatened to exit Nigeria and relocate overseas if relevant authorities refused to put necessary arrangements in place to arrest the ticking time bomb.
Ndume, a member of the senate committee on establishment, expressed his concern alongside other senators when Ekpo Nta, chairman of National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), appeared before the lawmakers on Thursday.
Ndume said it is bad for the recurrent expenditure to be increasing despite the suspension on recruitment, adding that many youths are unemployed.
The lawmaker said he is already considering fleeing Nigeria to Niger or Ghana if the crisis is not averted.
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“Making it worrisome is the fact that despite the policy (suspending recruitment), since 2018 till now, recurrent expenditure components of yearly budgets have been increasing,” the legislator said.
“In 2018, it was N3.5 trillion, N4 trillion in 2019, N4.5 trillion in 2020, N5.6 trillion 2021 and N6.83 trillion in the projected N16.39 trillion 2022 budget.
“It is bad for recurrent expenditure to be increasing on yearly basis without an increase in the number of workforce through required recruitments.
“The embargo is turning into a time bomb that can explode at anytime as witnessed in some countries in recent past.
“Personally, I am already thinking of where to run to if the avoidable crisis is not averted. I visited Ghana and Niger recently in this regard.”
via: Information Nigeria
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