The immediate past chairman of the Cross River State chapter of Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Emmah Isong, has said the discrepancies noticed in the 2016 budget was an indication that the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government was not ready for leadership.
The Senate and House Representatives had recently pointed out some discrepancies in the 2016 budget as proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Isong, in an interview with our correspondent in Calabar on Monday, criticised the poor handling and presentation of the 2016 budget by the Federal Government.
He said that the discrepancies in the budget were signals that there was a big gap between the executive and the legislative arm of government.
The cleric, who is the presiding Bishop of Christian Central Chapel International in Calabar, said failure to handle the budget properly could spell doom for the citizenry.
He said, “If the budget, which is the viable instrument for national planning, is not properly handled, it will have negative impact on the socio-economic wellbeing of Nigerians.
“The APC was not ready for governance that is why the haphazard preparation of the budget. We are talking about an instrument for national planning and where the pendulum swing in the budget is where the destiny of Nigerians will swing.”
Isong also called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, to arrest and prosecute politicians who make sarcastic comments against the recent Supreme Court judgments on Akwa Ibom and River states governorship elections.
He said those found culpable should be charged for contempt of court.
Isong described as ‘fantastic’ the Supreme Court judgments which upheld the election of governorship candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states.
He said the judgment has redeemed the image of the judiciary.
Isong said, “I hope you know it is contempt of court to make a comment on a judgment that had been passed. I hereby call on the Chief Justice of Nigeria to arrest and prosecute any politician making any sarcastic comment on the last judgment of the Supreme Court for contempt of court.
“The Supreme Court judgment was fantastic and whether those that got the judgment deserved it or not, it is not my business but I know that the judgment has saved the image of the judiciary.
“Did PDP criticise appeal court judgments? There is a system in this country where unless judgment is in favour of the ruling government, it is a mockery of the judiciary. By the last judgment of Supreme Court, the judiciary has tactically and successfully redeemed its image.”
