2012 budget: Mark, Peterside, others react

As PresidentGoodluckJonathan presented the 2012 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly on Tuesday, the President of the Senate, David Mark, on Tuesday, called for full implementation of the budget, saying the lawmakers would ensure a comprehensive implementation of the budget through their oversight functions.He said: 'Let this budget be the one that will say 'let there be light, and there is light; let there be roads and there are roads; let there be water, and there is water; let there be employment and there is employment; let there be medical care and it is so; and let there be food and there is food.''Mark, who spoke before the president presented the budget, insisted that the budget must lay emphasis on critical infrastructure and 'reduce revenue leakages, grow the economy, generate employment, encourage local production and promote made-in Nigeria goods.'Also, the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum chairman (Downstream), Honourable Dakuku Peterside, on Tuesday, described the 2012 budget presentation by Dr Jonathan as a bold step towards the president's transformation agenda.Peterside, who spoke after Jonathan's presentation to members of the National Assembly, however, warned that the president could only achieve his objectives if the usual problem of implementation is tackled effectively.'The general framework of 2012 budget is brilliant. But it needs more details. Priorities, especially with regard to education, agriculture, power, infrastructure, security and so on, are also right. In fact, I also feel that Mr President's policy direction was hope-generating,' he said.Some members of the House of Rep-resentatives, on Tuesday, said that if fully implemented, the budget would have positive effects on the masses and, as well, assist in revamping the economy.Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune after the presentation of the 2012 budget proposal to the joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja, the lawmakers lauded the measures being taken by the administration aimed at boosting the nation's economy, especially in the area of importation, job creation and security.The lawmakers included Honourable Opeyemi Bamidele, Victor Ogene, Tajudeen Yusuf, Kamil Akinlabi, Bimbo Daramola, Herma Hembe, among others. They, however, lamented that the presentation of the budget proposal by the president came rather too late.
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