'Proposed workers’ pay rise not captured in 2018 budget’

/ AFP PHOTO / BOUREIMA HAMA

Representative of Ikole/Oye federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Kehinde Agboola, has said the anticipated increase in workers salary may not be realised.

He said this was because the Federal Government did not make provision for it in the 2018 budget estimates.

Agboola, who is Vice Chairman, House Committee on Drugs and Narcotics in the House of Representatives noted that President Muhammadu Buhari did not capture the provisions for salary increase in the 2018 budget, saying: “It was a deceit to portray them as being workers’ friendly.”

Speaking at Odo-Oro Ekiti in Ikole Local Council of Ekiti State yesterday, Agboola, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said the president would not increase salaries without budgetary provision for it, saying the measure may fail.

“What the APC government wanted to do is to fly the kite of salary increase, so that they can have sufficient grounds to defend increase of the price of petrol to

N200, this is because it was not captured in the 2018 budget,” he said.

Agboola added that it was disheartening that the president has been lying to Nigerians on his claims that Boko Haram has been defeated, saying: “If that was true, why was he seeking approval for $1b withdrawal from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) to fight insurgency?”

“We can infer that this was an evidence of failure in Boko Haram fight, because they had earlier said they have won the battle. Look at what is happening to our economy, it has been grounded by fuel scarcity.

Although, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said he did not recommend Buhari as president to revamp the economy but to fight insecurity and corruption.

“If you look at the whole scenario now, the president seems to be failing even in those areas where Obasanjo thought he would do well. The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal used N700m to cut grasses and today he is not being prosecuted.

The Ekiti State House of Assembly wrote to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) about how a serving minister had mismanaged his state when he was governor, but no action was taken.

Nigerians should tell us what former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government did that has not been witnessed under Buhari?

“So, I align with governors Ayodele Fayose and Nyesom Wike that the deductions from the ECA should be deployed to fight hunger in their own states,” he added.