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KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
Top government functionaries, policy makers including federal lawmakers and other stakeholders are expected to converge at the National Assembly on Monday, 26th March, 2018 for the second edition of the public hearing on the 2018 budget estimate.
The public hearing was co-organised by the joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Appropriations, and is to hold at Conference Room 0.22 Senate Wing, National Assembly complex, Abuja.
Some of those expected to make presentation at the public hearing are: Senate President Bukola Saraki; Speaker Yakubu Dogara; Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Finance; Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning as well as Ben Nwabueze, Director General Budget Office of the Federation.
Others include: Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs).
Speaker Dogara had during Wednesday’s plenary session, directed all the standing committees to conclude consultations with the ministers and heads of various Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and submit their reports to the Appropriations Committee.
Dogara who noted that a harmonised copy of the 2018 budget will be laid before both chambers on April 19 (2018) assured Nigerians that the 2018 budget will be passed on April 24 (2018).
In the same vein, Senate President Bukola Saraki, had on Thursday, 22nd March, 2018 mandated all the Sub-Committee on Appropriations to submit their reports on the 2018 budget between 12 noon and 6pm as from: Thursday, 22nd March, 2018 and Monday, 26th March, 2018 at Meeting Room 224, Senate building.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari had a closed door meeting with Saraki and Dogara with a view to resolving the impasse.
Following the President’s intervention, all the concerned ministers were directed to resume the defence of their budget.
The Appropriations Committee of both chambers are also expected to include the breakdown of the lump-sum of N100 billion approved for Zonal Intervention/Constituency Projects in the 2018 budget.
The projects are to be implemented in the 109 senatorial districts and 360 federal constituencies across the country.
One of the Legislative Aides privy to the workings of the House Committee on Appropriations informed BusinessDay that the joint Committee on Appropriations, comprising of Loans, Aids and Debt Management; Finance, Appropriations and Budget Research Office, are expected to convene on Wednesday to fine-tune the budget proposals submitted by various MDAs.
According to the documents presented by the Debt Management Office (DMO) to the National Assembly, total new domestic borrowing was pegged at N849.674 billion for 2018.
From the total sum of N2,013,835,365,699 proposed for utilisation of the public debt charges in 2018, the sum of N1,759,755,709,708 is for servicing of domestic debt while N254,079,655,991 is for servicing of external debt.
As approved in the 2017 Appropriation Act, from total sum of N1,841,345,727,206 provided for debt servicing, the sum of N1,618,106,448,473.44 has so far been utilised.
