Why senators are bitter with Buhari’s N8.612 trillion 2018 Budget

Indications have emerged on why several senators are bitter with President Muhammadu Buhari on N8.612 trillion 2018 Budget proposal.
It was reliably gathered that senators are angry as result of the failure of Buhari’s administration to implement the constituency projects in the 2017 budget, two months to the expiration of the budget.
The lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction with the plan by the Federal Government to roll over many capitals budget in the 2017 budget proposal, which include constituency projects, a year to the general elections.
A reliable source close to the lawmakers said there is nothing on ground in their constituencies to campaign with for their return to the National Assembly.
During the debate on the budget proposal on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday, it was observed that senators criticized the budget proposal across party lines.
First to speak on the budget proposal was Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe (Abia-PDP), who described the revenue projection of N11 trillion in the budget as unrealistic.
According to Abaribe: “Since the 2018 budget is projected to consolidate on the gains made by the 2017 budget and the 2017 budget performance percentage is just about 15 per cent, automatically the 2018 Budget proposals are done on wrong projections, which to me is dead on arrival.”
However, the Senate leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan, objected to Abaribe’s comment on the revenue projection.
Also speaking against the budget, Senator Joshua Lidani said the revenue projection in the budget is nothing but building on quick sand and very weak foundation.
Senator Abubakar Yusuf wondered whether the President ever gives any of the budget proposals prepared for him by bureaucrats consideration before presenting them to the National Assembly going by the yearly heavy shortfalls in revenue projections
Yusuf said rather than for the Presidency to critically look into what can be done in making agencies responsible for non oil revenue generation to brace up, it keeps projecting unrealisable revenue collections on yearly basis as experienced this year where only N155 billion was realised out of the projected N807 billion independent revenue generation.