The president, who is said to be under pressure following the dwindling revenues of the country, could only approve the said amount for the Independence celebrations.
This much was revealed by Babachir Lawal, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, OSGF, during a chat with journalists.
Vanguard reports that Buhari reluctantly approved the said amount after complaining that the money ought to be used for something else other than frivolities.
“This year’s celebration is, indeed low key because the present administration appreciates the economic hardship that Nigerians and the nation is confronted with today and he almost slashed it downward from N70m.
“To address the situation, government has adopted a general policy to be very prudent in the management of our financial resources, so this year’s celebration is, therefore, in consonance with the cost-saving policy direction of this administration,” the SGF explained.
Lawal further said: “four events have been approved by the president to manage the entire celebration process”.
“The events are: Jumat prayers, international thanksgiving service, ceremonial change of guards and a children’s party.
“Apart from these four events the president will also address the nation on Oct 1.
“To ensure a successful commemoration, four sub-committees have been constituted to handle the preparations for each of the four events.”
The Nigerian president, who is due for a visit to the United States next week, is also set to assist Burkina Faso on resolving their political crisis and host an Extraordinary Summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
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