Wife of the National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu on Tuesday faulted the allocation to Women Affairs Ministry in the 2016 budget.
Contributing to the debate on the 2016 budget proposal, Mrs. Tinubu (APC, Lagos Central) said the allocation of N4bn to the Ministry indicated that the Nigerian women have been used and dumped by the APC.
She said the party would incur the wrath of women in the country “if the allocation in the budget was not jerked up””.
“The allocation to women in this budget is the least ever. Less than N4bn was allocated to women when capital projects alone are N3bn. This is not going to go down well. I think the women have been used and dumped after elections.
“This is not going to go down well with us at all and this is why I’m calling for the upward review of the allocation to women, otherwise we will incur the wrath of women,” Mrs. Tinubu who is also the chairman of the Senate Committee on Women Affairs said.
In her reaction to the paltry allocations made by Buhari to the Ministry of Women Affairs, the senator lamented that the APC promised to run an inclusive government with the women well represented, insisting that the 2016 budget does not reflect the promise.
“In its manifesto, the APC mentioned the need for empowerment programmes for Nigerian women. Such comprehensive empowerment requires fund which should be included in the budget for implementation.
“Going through the budget for the federal ministry of women affairs, I discovered that the total allocation to the women ministry is so meager and I think it would be the least allocation allotted to a ministry.
“And when we look at the functions of this ministry, the ministry is divided into two divisions: human resources and capacity building, economic services and women cooperative, but when we look at the first division, which is human resources and capacity building, they are supposed to promote education, development of women in the civil, political, socio-cultural and economic sectors.
“All these that I have also mentioned require capital. Looking at this budget of less than N4bn, they have capital with almost N3bn. So, when you look at it, what is left? I am just laying this case on behalf of the Nigerian women.
“The change mantra is supposed to change things across board. What they have allotted to the Nigerian women is not encouraging. When we talk about change, it doesn’t mean we are going to dodge and support what is not working.
She urged the Senate Committee on Appropriations to look into the allocation to women during budget defence.
“When it gets to the committee level, we should find means to adjust the allocation, ” she said.
However, Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wammako (APC, Sokoto North) said the budget was realistic.
“The 2016 budget is not only budget of change but it is budget of hope. To diversify the economy of the country, the time is now, hence the quest of this administration to harness other areas.
“If the total money used in paying subsidies on petrol is invested in Agriculture sector, our country will be among exporters of agricultural products,” he said.
