The Federal Government has earmarked a total of N13,805,814,220 for the upkeep of former presidents, vice-presidents, heads of state, Chiefs of General Staff, retired heads of service, permanent secretaries, as well as retired heads of government agencies and parastatals in the 2024 fiscal year.
The beneficiaries include former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari, as well as ex-vice-presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo and Prof Yemi Osinbajo.
Also expected to benefit from the windfall are ex-military Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and General Abdusalami Abubakar, as well as a former dictator and self-styled military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, and a former Chief of General Staff, Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe (retd.).
Also, N1tn was provisioned for the public service wage adjustment for government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (including arrears of promotion and salary increases, and payment of severance benefits and minimum wage-related adjustments).
A breakdown shows that the entitlements of former presidents/heads of states and vice-presidents/chief of general staff will cost N2.3bn, while N10.5bn is proposed as benefits for retired heads of service, permanent secretaries and professors.
The payment of severance benefits to retired heads of government agencies and parastatals is proposed to cost N1bn.
Other allocations include N65bn for the Presidential Amnesty Programme for the reintegration of transformed ex-militants; N1bn for the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Energy; and N108bn for unnamed special projects.
Under capital supplementation, zonal intervention, otherwise called constituency projects for federal lawmakers, gets N100bn; special projects, N108bn; contingency (capital), N200bn; aid and grants funded projects, N685.6bn; and National Social Investment Programme Agency, N100bn.
Minister on budget
Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, on Saturday expressed optimism that the 2024 budget would mark a transformative era in the country once it was passed by the National Assembly.
The minister, while declaring open the Kaduna State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations Annual Public Lecture/Annual General Meeting, noted that the budget signified a pivotal step towards the realisation of Tinubu administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
In addition to its focus on development priorities, the minister noted that the budget demonstrated a commitment to fiscal responsibility.
According to him, the administration recognises the importance of prudent financial management as the foundation for long-term economic stability.
Idris said, “Just this week, he (Tinubu) presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill of N27.5tn to the National Assembly, the first full-year budget of his administration. The budget as presented signifies a pivotal step towards the realisation of his Renewed Hope Agenda by aligning fiscal strategies and priorities with broader national development objectives.
“As the 2024 appropriation bill moves through the legislative process, we are very optimistic that its passage will mark the beginning of a transformative era, bringing tangible improvements to the lives of Nigerians.
Before the budget presentation, President Tinubu had assented to an equally important supplementary budget, signed several landmark bills and Executive Orders into law, and inaugurated special presidential initiatives on fiscal policy reform, Compressed Natural Gas, food security, MSME support, and other critical areas of the economy. The goal has been to deliver relief to the Nigerian people and lay the groundwork for true and lasting prosperity.
“At this juncture, let me remind us that one of the pillars of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s eight-point agenda is inclusivity, which means inclusive policies and programmes for all segments of the population, especially youths and women.
You can see manifestations of this even in the array of appointments made by the President so far, and the prominence given to young people and to women. This is not to say we have done enough, and can therefore rest on our laurels. No.
“We can still do better, and I can assure you that President Tinubu will continue to push the envelope in this regard. In addition to appointments and representation, the Tinubu Administration has very importantly been rolling out policies targeted at creating the enabling environment for Nigerians to thrive across all demographic categories.”
Economists, lawyers, CSOs react
A professor of Economics at Godfrey Okoye University, Enugu State, Felix Onah, noted that Nigerian leaders were being selfish without any thought for the common man’s suffering.
“They are budgeting for themselves and not for the common man. At this point in our economy, the government should be thinking of the citizens, but that is not the case; they are thinking about themselves and not about those they are governing,” he said.
Onah stated that the Senate had the power to stop the budget from being passed, but noted that it would pass it despite the ridiculous spending, adding that the President had the Senate in his pockets.
“How can people be going through hard times and you are busy allocating money to past presidents and vice presidents? They don’t need the money. They already made so much when they were in office. That decision should be suspended immediately. Such funds should be channelled into the economy and security.”
Human rights activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, said the government needed to practice what it was preaching to Nigerians on bearing the burden of fuel subsidy removal.
He noted that it would amount to double compensation as most of the former presidents and vice-presidents were also benefiting from other services they had rendered to the nation in the past.
He said, “It is the issue of double compensation because most of the past leaders, especially those in the military, who are earning salaries and pensions as retired generals, are also earning humongous benefits as past presidents, and this is what we think that the government should look into.
“So, if the President is speaking to us on frugality and the need to bear the burden of subsidy removal and other inflationary trends that we are experiencing, I think charity should begin at home.”
On his part, human rights lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, said the Tinubu administration was contradictory in its sermon to Nigerians, stressing that the cost of governance was too high.
He added that it was an uncaring attitude for the Presidency to budget such a humongous sum for the welfare of past presidents and vice-presidents amid economic hardship.
Ogunye stated, “The Tinubu administration, since it came to power, has been sermonising on the need for Nigerians to tolerate the current hardship, stating clearly that it realises that people are going through difficulties, but assuring that in the end things will be better.
“I have not seen the administration observe what it preaches; so, it is contradictory for an administration to be asking people to bear pains for the future to be brighter and prosperous and in the immediate, also spending this kind of money. I have not seen a trimming down, or a change of attitude. Things are getting more difficult and the cost of governance is getting more expensive.”
