Senate disagrees with FG on centenary celebration funding

Category: News Published on Wednesday, 23 January 2013 06:00

The Senate has disagreed with the Federal Government over the funding of the proposed centenary celebration.

Senate President David Mark in Abuja yesterday warned President Goodluck Jonathan against spending public funds on the celebration.

Mark was reacting to the disclosure by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim, that all the programmes slated for the centenary celebration were private-sector driven.

Anyim was in the National Assembly to brief the Senate on the proposed programme for the celebration.

But Mark, first observed that the Senate had already been edged out given the fact that the programme would be private sector-driven, as claimed by the government.

He described the celebration as commercial and doubted its feasibility, saying that no businessman would like to invest without considering profitability.

Also speaking, Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu challenged the executive to disclose the estimated cost of the celebration.

Senator Ahmed Lawan (ANPP, Yobe North) wondered why the executive would involve the states in the programme, noting that his own state, Yobe, already had issues of security to spend its limited financial resources on; while Senator James Manager (PDP, Delta South) said the executive had already concluded its proposal for the programme and was trying to foist it on the legislature as no lawmaker was part of the planning committee.

Addressing the senators earlier, Anyim said on the order of President Goodluck Jonathan, the programme, which would be flagged off on February 4, 2013, would be funded by the private sector.