P.M. News (Lagos)  31 December 2003  Nigeria: Why Budget
Implementation is a Problem   Abuja — Shortly before the
presentation of the 2004 budget proposal to the joint session of
the National Assembly, Honourable Muftau Ayinde, in this
interview with P.M. News' ISIAKA MUSTAPHA explains how improper
budget execution has been setting Nigeria back as a nation, and
also talked about other sundry issues Budget 2004 would be
presented to the National Assembly today.  Can you tell us your
expectation of the budget?  A: Before talking about my
expectation, I think I should talk about people's expectation,
which I would want to align with my view of the budget.
Obviously, the nation's economy is in a bad shape, we want a
situation where our economy would be very healthy, where there
would be high scale production, and I think this is the only way
we can reflate our economy. The major problems we're facing in
this country is that of unemployment, and in a country where
there is a high level of unemployment, a lot of pr