…. Promises to pass budget in March
The Senate has warned that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that fail to appear before its sub-committees to defend their 2017 budget, will have zero capital allocation for this year.
This is even as it promised to pass this year’s budget by the second week of March.
To this end, the legislative body adjourned plenary till Tuesday next week, to enable its sub-committees conclude budget defence with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
Senate spokesperson Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, stressed that only recurrent expenditure of MDAs that fail to appear before it would be approved.
“The power to appropriate is with the National Assembly. The essence of coming to meet committees is to come and defend why you (heads of MDAs) want funds to be given to you to carry out your duties. If you consider that as important, what we will do is simply to allow your staff enjoy their salaries but with respect to capital, definitely if you don’t come to defend it, we will take it out and give it to those who are serious. And that means you will be having zero capital allocation”, Abdullahi told newsmen on Wednesday after plenary.
The N7.298trillon 2017 budget comprises capital expenditure of N2.24trillion, recurrent expenditure 2.98trillion, Debt Service N1.66trillion and Statutory Transfers N419.02billion.
The lawmaker expressed dismay that some MDAs are ‘joking’ with their capital allocation in this year’s budget.
The senator also announced that the 2017 budget would be passed in the second week of March.
He stated: “We consider the 2017 appropriation very important and critical, especially for an economy that is in recession. And we are committed to ensuring that by the second week of March, we are done with the 2017 appropriation”.
Moving the motion to announce the adjournment, Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, said some heads of MDAs have refused to appear and defend their budgets.
Recall that the Senate had suspended plenary on January 26 to enable its sub-committees conclude budget defence with respective MDAs.
However, at resumption of plenary on Tuesday, it was discovered that some of them were yet to conclude the process.
This informed a meeting of the Senate leadership with committee chairmen, where Senate President Bukola Saraki called for expeditious passage of the budget.
Some of the MDAs yet to conclude their budget defence include the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ministry of Power, Works and Housing among others.
Following her invitation, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun is expected to appear before the Senate Committee on Housing over N2billion padded in the budget of Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.
Also the anti-graft agency is expected to reappear before the Senate Committee on Anti-Corruption and Financial Crimes to furnish the panel on details of performance on capital expenditure for last year as well as information of all recoveries made by the agency till date.
