Toby Okechukwu, a member of the house of representatives,
has tackled President Muhammadu Buhari over the “skewed” implementation plan
for the $22.7bn loan approved by the national assembly.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, Okechukwu, who represents
Aninri/Agwu/Oji-uzo federal constituency in Enugu state, accused the president
of sidelining the south-east in the plan.
He said the region has always come last in the president’s
priorities on budgetary allocations, adding that the approval for the loan
“does not meet the expectations of our people”.
“Because, first and foremost, there are certain strategic
projects that ought to be there. First, the western corridor rail line which
goes from Lagos to Kano and the eastern corridor rail line that goes from Port
Harcourt through Enugu to Makurdi, Plateau down to Maiduguri,” he said.
“They were established the same day, there were commenced
the same day. So, to take one in exclusion of the other is not appropriate.
“Secondly, it is an infrastructure sufficient to give
impetus to the eastern corridor passing through south-south, south-east,
north-central and north-east.
“And if you check all these areas, what you’ll see is that
we have trouble ranging from Boko Haram to agitations to militancy; we have
challenges in these areas and when you don’t undertake economic activities that
will improve it, you are not helping.”
He also said what Nigeria is seeking to borrow is
“humongous”, adding: “We are going to take another $4.5 billion to fund the
budget, the next season we are going to take another £4 billion for power, so
at which point are you going to accommodate the south-east?
“It is simply because the executive is not willing. They are
not able to do that and at the parliamentary level we are expecting that that
should have been taken into consideration.”
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