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Tag: 2019 budget

  • 2019 Budget Defence: FAAN proposes N101.6bn

    Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, (FAAN) has proposed a total budget of N101.6 billion for 2019.

    The Managing Director, Mr Saleh Dunoma, made the disclosure while defending the 2019 budget proposals of the Authority before the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation on Wednesday in Abuja.

    According to him, the Authority is proposing for 2019 a Budget of N101.67 billion as against N88,805,462,776 for 2018 which gives a 14.5 per cent increase.

    “This is in anticipation of increase in passenger traffic as well as boost in the non-aeronautical revenue base of the Authority as already highlighted in the 2018 budget performance.

    “The total proposed Revenue for 2019 of N101.67 billion is made up of N60.33 billion from the Aeronautical Revenue Sources N26.03 billion from the non-aeronautical sources and N16.92 billion as anticipated debts to be recovered.

    “The Authority is also proposing a Total Recurrent Expenditure of N58.44 billion with N34.72 billion as Personnel Costs and other related costs, N23.72 billion as overhead costs for 2019

    “A Proposal of N17.82 billion for Capital Budget against N16.78 billion approved for the year 2018.

    Donuma said that the 6.2 per cent increase in capital expenditure between 2018 and 2019 is largely as a result of “Planned improvement in Infrastructural development across the airports and efforts in certification with Port Harcourt and Kano International Airports in view for the year 2019″.

    “The provisional estimate of N25.42 billion which is 25 per cent of the total revenue is set aside against which the authority will be making quarterly interim remittances pending the audit of financial statements in determining the final operating surplus as stipulated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act.”

    The MD prayed the committee to pass the budget and also assist them in recovering most debts owed the agency by various aviation organisations.

    According to him, we have made a presentation of our performance on the 2018 budget and of course our proposals for the 2019 appropriation budget, which we submitted to the House Committee on Aviation for their consideration and approval.

    “This has been accepted and we are waiting for further direction.

    “We pray that the committee will approve the budget and secondly, we want them to assist us to collect our debts from other organisations,” he said.

    Similarly, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, Kaduna State also projected its 2019 budget to be a total of N4.78 billion.

    The Rector and Chief Executive of the College, Capt. Mohammed Abdulsalami, while making the presentation at the House of Representatives Committee on Aviation said N3 billion has been projected as Internally Generated Revenue  (IGR).

    He said that the figure represented 10.5 per cent reduction in budgetary provision when compared to N3.36 billion appropriated in 2018.

    “In 2019, the college is proposing a budget of N4.78 billion comprising N1.78 billion for Personnel Cost, N243.40 billion, for Overhead Cost and N2.76 billion for Capital Expenditure.

    “This represents a 24 per cent reduction in budgetary envelope when compared to the sum of N6.28 billion appropriated in 2018.

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    “In 2019, the College is proposing an IGR of N3 billion comprising N2.85 billion for Overhead Cost and N150 million for replacement of insured assets.

    This represents a 10.5 per cent reduction in budgetary provision when compared to the sum of N3.36 billion appropriated in 2018.”

    In her remarks, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Nkiru Onyejiocha, charged the agencies and parastatals in the Aviation sector to ensure that all monetary reports were harmonised and presented to the Committee for proper documentation.

    “We want to see everything in black and white. This 8th assembly is winding down and we will want to give a handover note to others.

    “We are trying to live up to the next level agenda of this government,” she said. (NAN)

  • 2019 budget: FCTA proposes over 30 billion for projects

    The Federal Capital Administration (FCTA) has presented a National Priority Budget of N30,704,674.051 (Thirty Billion, Seven Hundred and Four Million, Six Hundred and Seventy-Four Thousand and fifty one Kobo) to the Senate Committee on the FCT.

    The presentation was made by the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello when he led a delegation of senior FCTA officials to the National Assembly complex.

    According to the Minister, the sum is based on the National Priority Budget Capital Envelop for the 2019 fiscal year for the FCT.

    He revealed that a total of 30 projects which include provision of engineering infrastructure to several districts, payment of counterpart funds, construction of the Abuja rail mass Transit (LOT1B), Abuja Rail Mass transit (LOT 1and 3), completion of the International Technical and Vocational Institute Utako and four comprehensive science and technical colleges in Abaji, Kuje, Gwagwalada and Karshi as well as the provision of primary infrastructure (road, water, sewage and power supply) to mass housing districts amongst others.

    According to a statement issued on Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Anthony Ogunleye, on the performance analysis of various projects under the 2018 FCT National Budget, the Minister revealed that while a total of N32, 298,122,862.00 was appropriated the sum of N9,689,436,861.77 was actually released adding that of the 33 priority projects listed for implementation, only 15 were executed up to various degrees.

    He however attributed this to the non-release of funds to the FCTA, a situation which he said was not peculiar to the FCT alone.

    While expressing dissatisfaction at the inadequate release of funds to the FCT, the Chairman, Senate Committee on the FCT, Senator Dino Melaye appealed to the Federal Government to treat the FCT as a national priority project and release adequate funds for the development of the FCT.

    He said that Abuja city hosts the seat of the Federal Government along with about 90% of the embassies in the country and is the first port of call of all foreign dignitaries that visit Nigeria.

    Bello said it would be a national embarrassment if facilities and utilities of the FCT are not functioning properly.

    Senator Melaye also commended the FCT Minister for his transparent approach to governance and prudent management of resources.

  • ‘Reliance on oil for budget financing dangerous’

    THE Federal Government should not fund the 2019 budget of N8.7 trillion from the rising price of crude oil at the international market, the Centre for Energy Studies, warned in Lagos at the weekend.

    Its Director, Energy Information, Prof Wunmi Iledare, warned about the dangers in doing so because of the volatility the global price of oil.

    In a telephone interview, Iledare advised the Federal Government to keep the oil budget benchmark at between $50 and $60 per barrel, adding that doing otherwise would be injurious to the economy and the government’s revenue projections.

    Iledare said: “Regarding the funding of the budget, it would be foolhardy for the Federal Government to base the funding of the budget of N8.7 trillion for 2019 on any price outside $50 or $60 since prices of goods respond to the forces of supply and demand.”

    He urged the Federal Government to think beyond oil revenue to fund the capital and recurrent expenditures outlined in the 2019 budget.

    He said oil production and pricing are stochastic. According to online knowledge platform, Wikipedia, ‘the word stochastic is an adjective that describes something that was randomly determined’.

    “Oil production and price are stochastic and using stochastic variables for budget projection and funding is not realistic. The reason is because prices of crude or any other commodities are random in nature. That is the prices have random variables and are therefore, based on choice,” he added.

    Ileadare, who is also the Country’s President, International Association of Energy Economists (IAEE), urged the government against using crude projection that is not realistic for determining its ability to fund this year’s budget.

    Nigeria, he said, produces about 2.3 million barrels of crude per day (bpd), adding that any attempt to use any oil production that is higher than that figure is not realistic.

    He said the government has introduced zero royalty mechanism in water depth of 1,000 + meters on oil produced in the offshore region, stressing that the development has caused a slight reduction in the earnings from crude oil.

  • BudgIT to Saraki, Dogara: make NASS 2019 budget public

    BudgIT, a civic organisation, has asked the leadership of the National Assembly to make open details of its 2019 budget, showing a line-by-line breakdown of allocation.

    The organisation stated the annual budget of the national assembly has remained a one-line statutory transfer which is neither reviewed by any authority nor, at the very least, made accessible to the public thus enabling unbridled corruption.

    In a statement on Wednesday in Abuja by its Communications Associate, Shakir Akorede, BudgIT’s principal lead, Gabriel Okeowo, stated that opening the 2019 budget of the national assembly was the ultimate way the legislature could lead by example in making public accountability a Nigerian culture.

    According to the statement, it is an irony that the budget of the national assembly has continued to defile public scrutiny.

    The statement reads: “At this age of digital governance plus global calls for transparency in public institutions, it is a national disrepute that the parliament has refused to eschew anti-democratic practices, as it continues to bury its yearly allocations under the hallowed chambers.

    “That Nigeria’s National Assembly, an arm of government that supposedly upholds accountability, has remained an impregnable black box which defies public scrutiny is an irony of all ironies.

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    “Aside from the lawmakers being ranked as world’s top-paid legislators, at public expense, the annual budget of the National Assembly is a one-line statutory transfer which is neither reviewed by any authority nor, at the very least, made accessible to the public thus enabling unbridled corruption.

    “At this age of digital governance plus global calls for transparency in public institutions, it is a national disrepute that the parliament has refused to eschew anti-democratic practices, as it continues to bury its yearly allocations under the hallowed chambers.

    “More disappointing is the fact that, despite Nigeria’s membership in Open Government Partnership and tons of pledges by Senate President Bukola Saraki to run an “open NASS,” the National Assembly immediately relapsed into its default setting after a breakdown of the budget was made public in 2017, thanks to public pressure.

    “Asserting that the 2017 record must be made permanent, we are making a renewed demand from the leadership of the eighth assembly to fully redeem its promise.

    “Starting again with the 2019 budget, a line-by-line breakdown of the NASS allocation must be made public going forward.

    “It is worth the call that Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara should leave behind a great legacy, one that history would never forget, by truly and finally opening NASS.”

  • Senate may pass 2019 budget in April

    The Senate Tuesday resumed the consideration of the general principles of the 2019 Appropriation Bill with more knocks on the budget.

    The upper chamber slated the passage of the N8.83 trillion budget estimates for next month.

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, after the conclusion of the debate of the general principles of the fiscal document, gave the Appropriation Committee where the budget proposal was referred to, two weeks to turn in its report for consideration and passage.

    The upper chamber resolved to ignore heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, who may fail to appear before the sub-committees to defend their budget proposals.

    Sub-committees were mandated to adopt the proposals as submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to a joint session of the National Assembly at the event that any MDA failed to appear before them.

    The lawmakers resolved, like it was the case in the past, not to run after heads of MDAs who may refuse to appear before the sub-committees to defend their budget proposals and estimates.

    Saraki gave the Appropriation Committee the deadline of April 2, 2019 to submit its report for the consideration of the Senate.

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    He said, “The relevant committees should swing into action and ensure that they conclude work on this budget within two weeks. The Committee on Appropriations should submit its report on the 2nd of April so that we can pass the budget.

    “Let me also add that the various committees should not run or force any head of agency to appear. If they don’t appear before the given time, adopt what was submitted by the President and submit your report. That is what you should do.”

    In his contribution to the debate of the general principles of the budget, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, (Abia South) said that the 2019 budget christened “budget consolidation” is actually “a budget of consolidation of poverty.”

    Abaribe who noted that the budget projections did not support the entire template of the budget estimates insisted that fiscal document cannot be implemented.

    The Federal Government, he said, should as a matter of urgent, prepare and send entire new budget by September, for the National Assembly work on.

    Abaribe said: “People who draft budgets for the President give it different names. They write it with their hands in cheek. It means we are paying more debt than spending on projects. When they say budget of consolidation, they are consolidating poverty. This budget will not be implementable.

    “You can see that where we are is just consolidation of poverty. Let them leave this budget. Time is far spent. Let them bring a new budget by September. This budget is a waste of time. I don’t know the essence of this budget they have brought here. Let’s move on to something more important.”

    Senator Suleiman Adokwe, on his own noted that poor allocation and releases to fund capital projects is a major challenge the Executive must tackle for economic growth.

    Adokwe said, “My major problem with the budget is that not much has been voted for capital projects. Year in, year out, we have the same poor allocation to capital projects. Agencies continue to waste money on recurrent expenditure. Even the release of funds for capital projects, has fallen below our expectations.

    “There should be 100 percent release of funds for capital projects. There should also be monitoring of capital projects to ensure that monies released are not misappropriated.”

    Senator Ben Murray Bruce canvassed the scrapping of moribund agencies.

    The Bayelsa State Senator noted that some of the agencies were established in the 1960s and had outlived their relevance.

    He said: “This budget is not different from the one they presented three years ago. There are agencies that were set up in the 1960s. They should be scrapped. We have two percent of Nigerians who are civil servants consuming about 45 percent of our annual budget. We spend trillions on fuel subsidy, but isn’t in our budget. I don’t know what kind of voodoo accounting is this.

    “We need to remove the fuel subsidy. We need to take it out. It is a terrible thing. I am not sure the Labour or Nigerians will complain. They will support the move and ensure that we spend the money on other sectors. This is the right thing to do.

    “President Muhammadu Buhari, when picking his ministers should select smart people and not those current ones who can’t think outside the box. There are brilliant people here who can do better. I don’t know why we select people who are not smart.”

    Senator Matthew Urhoghide, asked the Federal Government to take steps to explore more alternative sources of income to fund its annual budgets.

    He said: “Budgeting has become an annual ritual. We have not been able to put a balanced budget on the table. A serious country must ensure that it has a serious source of income to grow its economy. Even MDAs that are supposed to generate revenues don’t do that anymore.

    “When we keep talking about budgets every year, it becomes an exercise in futility. We need to sit down and talk about how to ensure that the lives of our people are better. Once this budget is referred to the committees, I know that heads of MDAs will not appear as at when due and in the end, they will blame us.“

  • Updated: Senate resolves to debate conduct of 2019 elections

    The Senate on Wednesday resolved to debate the conduct of the controversial 2019 general elections.

    The resolution followed a Point of Order (Order 42) by Senator Dino Melaye, which gives Senators the privilege to raise issues for consideration as they deem necessary.

    Melaye prayed the Upper Chamber to debate the way and manner the 2019 general elections were conducted across the country with a view to identifying shortcomings.

    The Kogi West Senator said the conduct of the elections were below expectation and should be debated with a view to making provisions that would aid the correction of observed anomalies.

    For him, the debate will afford Senators the opportunity to tell their stories about how the elections were conducted in the constituencies.

    He said the debate would also place the Senate in a better position to advise the President appropriately as well as to urge him to sign the amended Electoral Act for smoother elections in future.

    Melaye concluded the debate would assist the country to prepare a seamless election process in future.

    He sought to bring a substantive motion on the issue on the next legislative day.

    The proposed motion appeared not to have gone down well with some Senators especially those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) extraction.

    Senate President, Bukola Saraki, sought the leave of the Senate to allow Melaye to present his motion on the next legislative day.

    A Senator on the floor was over heard shouting that the voice vote should be declared inconclusive by Saraki.

    Those opposed to the motion appeared to be louder in their shout of “nay”

    Saraki ruled that what was needed to allow the motion was 1/5 of the leave of the Senate.

    Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, took the floor to remind Saraki that his ruling on whether to allow the motion or not was not clear.

    Lawan said, “A non- partisan motion was on the floor. We didn’t hear your ruling. What was your ruling on the motion? We did not hear your ruling.”

    Saraki reiterated what was needed to approve the motion to be debated was 1/5 of the leave of the Senate.

    He said that 1/5 leave of the Senate was secured.

    “My ruling is that the motion will be listed on the Order Paper for the next legislative day.

    Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’ Alla made a futile attempt to shoot down the motion by informing his colleagues that there was no motion on the floor in the first place.

    Na’Alla said Melaye introduced himself as Senator-elect instead of introducing himself as a Senator.

    Saraki reminded him that Melaye first introduced himself as a Senator representing Kogi West before adding that he is also a Senator-elect.

    Senator Jibrin Barau (APC Kano North) raised another Point of Order and attempted to call for division of the House to determine the position of Senators on the motion.

    Saraki cut him short.

    The Senate President insisted that what was required to allow the motion was 1/5 leave of the Senate.

    The Senate President further assured that the motion would first be screened at the leadership level before presentation and debate in the chamber.

    He noted specifically that the motion would be considered as a Pan Nigerian motion by ensuring that the debate is not partisan.

    Saraki also assured that issues in court will not be allowed as part of the motion.

  • Ayade presents ‘spiritual’ N1.04 trillion budget estimate

    Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade on Wednesday presented the 2019 budget estimate of N1, 043, 967, 000, 000 christened “Quabalistic Densification.

    Presenting the budget to the House of Assembly in Calabar, Ayade said it was a budget of deep vision to deliver a prosperity agenda under the catalysis of minimal money, intellect and the third force, which is spiritual under God the father.

    According to him, it is densification of all spiritual force to drive a combo of intellectual and monetary forces for actuation of the migration of Cross River State from Third World to First World.

    He said the budget would drive the industrialisation agenda of his administration.

    According to him, the budget was designed to enhance the realisation of at least one industrial project in each local government area of the state with a view to create wealth and move the people from poverty line.

    “The 2019 budget of N1.043 trillion is meant to shift Cross River from third world to first world.

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    “The budget will also deal with the issue of active industrialization in each local government area in the state.

    ”It is a budget of deep vision meant to deliver a prosperity agenda under the catalysis of minimal money and intellect.

    “The 2019 budget will witness the actualization of products from the industries established with the 2018 budget.

    “The budget has been designed with special focus on infrastructure and we have allocated 30 per cent of the budget for that,’’ he said.

    The governor said the performance of the 2018 budget of N1.3trillion was 74 per cent.

    He said the 2019 budget would be driven to create more jobs for the youths.

    He urged the House to give the budget speedy consideration and passage.

  • Ambode must appear before us, Lagos lawmakers insist

    …Denies witch-hunting governor

     

    Lagos state House of Assembly insisted Wednesday that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and some of his commissioners earlier invited to explain infractions on the state budget must appear before it.

    Majority Leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade stated this while briefing House correspondents after an emergency parliamentary meeting by the lawmakers Wednesday night.

    He said nobody was witch-hunting the governor as being insinuated in some quarters but that the infractions were serious issues the House cannot over look.

    Agunbiade said the House decided to correct some wrong information and misconception being bandied around by the House resolutions on Ambode Monday last week.

    Read Also:Lagos lawmakers in emergency meeting after massive pro-Ambode protest

    As a fall out of the massive protest Wednesday at the Lagos State House of Assembly by concerned Lagosians against the planned impeachment of Governor Akinwunmi by the Assembly, members went into an emergency parliamentary meeting immediately after the protest.

    Referring to the earlier protest, Agunbiade said the House is not saying that Ambode should not end his tenure but that because of issues surrounding the 2019 budget he was summoned by the House.

    According to him, the major contention is that he has started spending from the 2019 budget which has not been laid before the House which is against constitutional provisions.

    “The budget is supposed to have been laid before the commencement of another fiscal which has always been the practice in the state, and unless it is laid you cannot spend from it but the governor has gone ahead to make expenditure from the budget.

    “There are also some infractions the House observed about the 2018 budget, expenditures made outside the budget, which necessitated the invitation the House extended to him and some commissioners to come and explain things.

    “It is not witch-hunting as people believe, to make expenditure from the budget you must have laid it before the House, for now we don’t have the budget so you can’t spend. As legislators we must do things properly,” he said.

    Agunbiade also corrected some misconceptions which he said are being tied to the Ambode issue that it was not true that the lawmakers are after Ambode because he refused to fund their campaign.

    “We want Lagos to flourish but we cannot compromise the regulations or constitutional provisions concerning appropriation.

    “If we wanted war we would not have written to him to come and explain, what we said was that where the infractions continue we would apply the constitutional provision which is impeachment”.

    He assured that there was no crisis or problem but because majority of the people don’t understand the workings of the legislature they misinterpret the its actions

    The Assembly had adjourned sitting till Monday next week but suddenly summoned members for an emergency meeting Wednesday after the massive protest by pro-Ambode supporters appealing to the Assembly not to impeach the governor.

    The Assembly had accused Ambode of alleged gross misconduct and spending money from the 2019 budget that had not yet been laid or approved by the House and spending outside the 2018 budget

    Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa had told members who wished that Ambode should be impeached to start collecting signatures in readiness to impeach the governor.

    Earlier Wednesday, hundreds of supporters loyal to Ambode stormed the Assembly to protest the planned impeachment.

    The protesters, in their number marched to the Assembly and caused traffic gridlock.

    The protesters carried placards, saying that any move to impeach Ambode would disrupt the coming election, adding that the governor should be allowed to complete his tenure.

    The protesters said the governor did not deserve the treatment he was getting from the party, saying they should leave the governor alone.

    The State House of Assembly had moved to impeach Ambode over what they called gross misconduct and spending part of the 2019 budget that had not been presented to the Assembly for approval.

     

  • Reps to meet executive over errors in 2019 budget document

    THE House of Representatives is planning to meet with Finance, Budget and National Planning ministers as well as National Budget Office Director-General over fundamental errors in figures in the 2019 Appropriation Bill.

    This came as the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, resisted attempt to shelve debate on the budget once again after Rita Orji (PDP, Lagos) raised a point of order that the number of lawmakers on the floor did not meet the required number to form a quorum for plenary.

    The Speaker said since she has no knowledge of the number of lawmakers on the register, it would be impossible for her to know if the floor meets the quorum requirement.

    Dogara added that the physical presence of members on the floor is not the deciding factor.

    The debate of the bill was twice put off due to same reason of errors in figures and the need for members to have enough time to go through it for informed constitutions to the debate.

    However, when the debate commenced, Chika Adamu (APC, Niger) noted that the proposed allocations to the Ministries of Finance, Education, Budget and National Planning, Budget Office and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation under main statutory components did not correspond with the total summary in the document.

    As a result, he requested if contributions to the debate could continue or be restricted to the general principles of the bill.

    He said:  “I noticed particularly some errors in the national budget. The schedules in the budget consist of part A, which is the statutory transfers and part B which is the services, part C which is recurrent expenditure.

    “I have issues with major ministries like the Ministries of Education, Finance, Budget and National Planning and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

    “When you go to the Education Ministry, in part C, which is the recurrent expenditure, which consists of both the personnel cost and overhead, you will realise that the budget is N462.2 billion and when you go to summary of the budget by MDAs number 41:0.5.1.8 personnel now has N539.6 billion overhead.

    “There’s also another N33.5 billion now making the total recurrent expenditure when you go by the summary of the MDAs has changed to N539 billion and I don’t know why the figure was added at that level.”

    “When you go to Ministry of Finance, the overhead, it now becomes N2.26 trillion and therefore that has also changed. The total which is now personnel and the overhead is now N2.27 trillion. That has charged.”

    Adamu added: “In the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, in the part C, it is N9.3 billion. However, when you go to summary by MDAs, which is number 28:0.2.3.8, personnel cost has now become N66.21 billion. Then Overhead also changed there; it has N832.2b. Then, the total, which is personnel and overhead in that aspect, has now become N1.49 trillion.

    “There’s also change in the capital, which is about N655.9 trillion at a total allocation of the Ministry of Budget and Planning. Instead of N9.3 billion, it has now become N2.15 trillion. Also at Capital, which use the D aspect, page 118 appeared only as the Federation.

    “We don’t have any MDAs called Federation, however, when I continued my research, I realise that federation there means capital component of N31.8 billion. I realised the Federation is referring to the office of the Secretary to the Government the Federation (SGF), so why the Federation?.”

    “When called upon to shed light on the anomalies, Ahman Pategi (PDP, Kwara) explained that the difference in figures could be down to typographical error because all allocations figures were correct, except in the summary section.

    He suggested that the leadership of appropriate Committee of the House should meet with the leadership of the affected agencies to sort it out.

    Pategi also noted that the figures could be corrected when the bill gets to the committee stage, where thorough scrutiny of the document would be done.

    Speaker Yakubu Dogara went into discussion with the Deputy Speaker Yussuff Lasun and others after which he announced that the debate would continue.

    He said the irreconcilable figures in the document meant contributions would be restricted to the general principles and the leader of the Appropriation and Finance Committee would meet the Finance and Budget and Planning Ministries and the Budget Office.

    He said the outcome of the meeting, with the correct figures would be provided before the conclusion of debate on the 2019 Appropriation Bill on Thursday.

    “Even though it is apparent on the surface of the budget, there are so many irreconcilable differences in the figures as allotted, basically, we are discussing principles of the budget by virtues of the provisions of our rules at this time.

    “I am sure we are not concluding debate today, direct relevant committees to liaise with the Ministry of Finance and Budget Planning to ensure that we can finish on Thursday,” he said.

    In his contribution, Deputy Speaker Lasun said it has become extremely important for Nigerians to realise the economic status of the country in comparison to other economies.

  • Ndume: PDP NASS leaders slowing down 2019 budget

    Former Senate Leader Ali Ndume on Wednesday said the leadership of the National Assembly under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is deliberately slowing down the consideration and passage of the 2019 budget.

    Ndume also contended the delay by the Senate to commence debate of the general principles of the N8.83trillion Appropriation Bill should have started if the All Progressives Congress (APC) senators were in charge of the leadership of the upper chamber.

    The Borno South Senator insisted that as far as APC senators were concerned, the 2019 budget can be considered within a week and passed.

    He said it appeared the National Assembly under the leadership of PDP lawmakers was not interested in the consideration of the fiscal proposals.

    Ndume said: “Though lawmakers on the platform of APC are more in number than their counterparts in PDP but since the PDP lawmakers are controlling the leadership of both chambers, the speed at which any executive bill, particularly the 2019 Appropriation Bill before us now will take, lies with them.

    “Those of us in the APC at both chambers have the passion and the will to effect expeditious consideration and passage of the 2019 budget proposals but the required speed for that lies with the leadership, topmost of whom are PDP members.”

    Told the Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan or the Deputy Senate Leader, Bala Ibn Na’ Allah who should move a motion to kick- start debate on general principles of the budget were not in the chamber on Tuesday and Wednesday, Ndume insisted the speed for any legislative action on the budget lies with the two presiding officers and principal officers.

    Ndume commended the House of Representatives for starting debate on general principles of the budget yesterday.

    The action in the House, he said, will propel legislative business in the Senate.

    He noted the required expeditious consideration expected to be given the 2019 Appropriation Bill, should also be extended to the new minimum wage bill when it is presented.

    Workers, Ndume said, deserve living and not just minimum wage.

    He said giving Nigerian workers a living wage is the view of many of the other Senators.

    Ndume added that the North East where PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar comes from, President Muhammadu Buhari will win 95percent of votes during the presidential election.

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    He said: “The difference is clear between the two of them as far as popularity and acceptability are concerned going by crowds attending their rallies.

    “Buhari has already won the election going by the mammoth crowds being pulled by him even in North East more than Atiku .

    “Besides, to us in the North East, PDP is poisonous which cannot be embraced in anyway by the teeming populace.”