A former Minister of Information, Frank Nweke Jr, has called on President Bola Tinubu to do everything within his power to reduce the cost of governance.
The 2023 governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Enugu State stated this during an interview on Channel Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
Nweke disclosed that he has concerns about certain aspects of certain decisions that have been taken so far by President Tinubu amid the current economic realities in the country.
The former minister also expressed serious worry about certain expenditures in the 2023 supplementary budget, such as the budgets for a presidential yacht and official cars for the Office of the First Lady.
He said: “First of all, I mean, I have my concerns about certain aspects of certain decisions that have been taken, for instance. I mean, this decision to expand this cabinet, right, which was even at about 43 at a time, it is almost 50 now.
“I mean, given the dire economic circumstances in which we are – for me, I don’t know what the consideration is – but from an outsider’s perspective, I think that if I had a chance to make an input, I would say that we must be we must do everything that is practical to reduce the cost of government, to reduce the size of government at this time, not to expand it, not to increase the cost of government.
“Then, of course, if I had a chance to make an input, I would express very deep concerns about certain thrusts of the supplementary budget, for instance, certain expenditures have been, you know, that have been suggested for certain things that we absolutely do not need at this time.
“So, the other way to look at it is the proliferation of these ministries. You’re gonna look at some of them, and you’re asking, ‘Why is this ministry here, and you still have this one, right? Some of these ministries ought to coexist.”
When asked if the creation of some ministries by President Tinubu may be to compensate loyalists, he said: “That’s a possibility. But you see, it brings me to the issue of political will. It brings me to the issue of, you know, the president’s patriotic instincts, right?
“What should take precedence? Is it this loyalty to supporters? What is loyalty to Nigeria, loyalty to the majority of the citizens whose votes you have received?
“Or is it just to vested interests? It’s a dilemma. But if I were the president at this time, I would choose the citizens over those vested political interests.”
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