Aviation expert lauds Buhari’s stance on 2016 budget

A former President of the Aviation Round Table (ART), Capt. Dele Ore, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for refusing to assent to the 2016 budget, as forwarded to him by the National Assembly.

Ore made this known while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.

He noted that the president was right to have rejected the budget, after discovering that it was different from what he had presented to the National Assembly.

“We thank God for the life of our president. The days of impunity and signing of budgets anyhow, are gone. Our president will not sign the budget until he scrutinises it very well.

“I commend his effort for this because we have had issues in the past where the budget was signed without much scrutiny.

“This is one president who knows what he is doing and we are very proud of him. So, I am sure that when they resolve everything, they will reconcile with the executive,’’ Ore said.

According to him, if the National Assembly decides to veto the budget at the end of the day, the whole world will know that this is not the President’s budget.

“So the NASS should be ready to implement the budget, but I know that Nigerians will not allow that to happen.

“We are hoping that they remove the obnoxious parts and insert the ones the president is insisting on, so that he can sign it,’’ he added.

Ore, however, clarified that the non-passage of the budget should not be used as an excuse by the various aviation agencies not to adequately perform their statutory responsibilities.

He said:“No agency should use this an excuse not to perform its statutory responsibilities.

“As far as aviation is concerned, most of the projects are the ones they are expecting private sector to come in and partner with the government. So they are not affected by the budget issue.’’

Ore noted that the Buhari-led administration had restored sanity to the system, stressing that this was a key attraction for serious investors. (NAN)