Public Affairs Analyst

Year 2009 will be off in few hours, it’s probably 2010 already in Australia. To you all my fans who have been encouraging me through your constructive and largely positive feedback, I say a big thank you. In 2009, I have many reasons to thank the Lord. In April, I clocked 40 and in October, it dawned on me that it’s been 19 years since my first piece was published in Daily Sketch. Today, the little acorn has grown to a large oak. In 2009, I spread my tentacles wider and added four more platforms to publishing my articles. They are The Nation, Daily Sun, Daily Independent and Next. Two Magazines/Newsletters, Women Advocate and Voters News also sought my permission to publish some of my published articles in their media. On the whole, to date, I have been published by 17 national newspapers and 11 magazines and newsletters. In July 2009, with the influence and inspiration from a friend, Sola Adetunji, I established my own blog from where those who love my writings can now read my views o...

Nigeria’s 2010 appropriation bill of N4.079 trillion was tagged ‘Budget of Fiscal Stimulus.’ What a misnomer! Since the budget was presented to National Assembly on November 24, 2009 the media has kept faith analysing and reporting the budget defence sessions of the Senate and House of Representatives committees with various Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs). I have followed these analyses keenly and I should say Nigeria is doomed with the current political leadership of the country. Over the years, budget in trillions of Naira have been passed without much to show in terms of human capital or infrastructural development. In a country with more than 70 per cent of the populace living below poverty line, we have a government that has voted N7.066 billion to build an earthly paradise for her Vice President. In the news report on the Federal Executive Council meeting of December 23, 2009, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Senator Adamu Aliero justified the need to have ...

After the November 19 impasse between the Senate and the House of Representatives over the venue for the presentation of the Nigeria’s 2010 budget, Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Mohammed Abba -Aji presented the appropriation bill to the two chambers of the National Assembly on Tuesday, 24 November 2009. The N4.079 trillion budget is the highest in the history of Nigeria; the first that was not read and laid personally by the president and also the first to be presented without fanfare but in accordance with constitutional procedure. The financial statement was also presented same day as the Senate approved additional supplementary budget of N353.6 billion as part of total expenditure for the 2009 fiscal year. This is apart from the initial N3. 049 trillion that was approved by the National Assembly last April for the 2009 fiscal year. In spite of these huge budget proposals, there has been perennial challenge of implementation.In analysing the 2...