The Nation Newspaper

Tag: budget

  • NECA: budget passage delay is dangerous

    NECA: budget passage delay is dangerous

    The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has expressed displeasure over the National Assembly’s delay in the passing  the 2018 budget.

    Its President, Mr. Larry Ettah, said at the end of its Governing Council meeting in Lagos, that the development could drag the nation into a state of inertaia.

    “It appears to have become a tradition in this democratic dispensation for the budget to be unduly delayed thereby plunging the economy into a state of inertia, particularly in the first quarter of the year.

    “In December 2016, the President presented the 2017 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly. However, the National Assembly did not pass the bill until May 11, 2017, almost six months after it was presented. We recollect that President Muhammadu Buhari presented the 2018 budget to our Legislators in November 2017,” he said.

    He implored the two arms of government to mutually agree on a time frame that would ensure that the budget for the following year was passed into law before the end of every current fiscal year.

    Reacting to the Land Use Charge 2018, Ettah accused the Lagos State government of being insensitive and inhuman to corporations and residents.

    According to him, the recent amendment to the Land Use Charge Law was a classical case of insensitivity, alienation and gross disregard of the wellbeing of corporate and individual residents.

    “In reality, the new law will expect property owners in Lagos State to pay at the very minimum, a monstrous, appalling and callous increase of over 200 per cent and in some instances over 500 per cent in Land Use Charge. It is not as if the income of a property owner has gone up significantly to justify this outrageous law,” Ettah said.

    Moreso, he argued that the real estate sector had continued to wallow in deep recession with high vacancy rates.

    “How on earth would any decent authority increase taxes overnight by over 200 to 500 per cent when in reality government should be doing more to stimulate the sector to come out of recession? To compound matters, there is a repugnant and odious penalty payment ranging between 125-200 per cent, if payment is not made between April and August,” he said.

    He said the Organised Private Sector (OPS) found the law intolerable and brutish, adding that the OPS would do everything legal and legitimate, including social resistance to challenge the unfair and unjustifiable law.

    “We put Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on notice that this law in its current form is not acceptable and the OPS will fight this law by social resistance and any other legitimate means at its disposal to get the government to ameliorate the harsh impact of the abhorrent law on residents.

    ”We believe in the context of a democracy that it is important that truth is spoken to power. We hope the government will not be obdurate and see reason as to why this law is unfair,” he said.

    The NECA boss, who commended the government for the constitution and re-constitution of some boards of parastatals and agencies, is, however, worried over the lateness and non-reconstitution of some other boards, which, he said, portends danger for good governance and a negative image for the country.

  • Disquiet over budget

    Disquiet over budget

    •Cold war delays passage

    The frosty relationship between the Presidency and the National Assembly largely accounts for the delayed  passage of this year’s budget, The Nation has learnt.

    Besides, there are indications that the National Assembly wants to see through the implementation of the 2017 budget by the end of this month before passing this year’s Appropriation Bill into law.

    But the Presidency is uncomfortable with the delay. It sees the alleged “foot-dragging”as a “breach of the gentleman agreement” between it and the National Assembly.

    The President had on November 7 presented the N8.6trillion Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly.

    Prior to the presentation, the Presidency had consulted widely with the leaders of the National Assembly, including the principal officers.

    The face-off between the Presidency and the National Assembly, The Nation gathered,  borders on alleged:

    • disdain for Separation of Powers;
    • neglect of the resolutions of the National Assembly by the Executive;
    • poor execution of 2017 constituency projects;
    • lack of details from Ministries, Departments and Agencies(MDAs);
    • lack of presentation of 2017 Budget performance by MDAs;
    • MDAs resistance of inclusion of fresh projects by NASS committees; and
    • what was termed as the  “lackadaisical attitude” of heads of MDAs

    A senator, who spoke in confidence, said: “Nothing is delaying the passage of the 2018 Budget than sheer politics and ego. Some of our colleagues are just unhappy with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari especially alleged non-compliance with the resolutions of the National Assembly.

    “We are not all on the same page on the delay but those who do not want the budget passed are greater in number. They have some grudges against the Presidency and they believe that the power of appropriation is a weapon to fight back.

    “The worst aspect is that members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the National Assembly have joined the fray to portray this administration as unserious and incapable.

    “The same face-off is behind the non-confirmation of some appointees of the President. It is a plot to hurt this government.”

    Senate spokesman Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi blamed the delay on MDAs.

    He said: “The MDAs are still interacting with committees, many of them are not responding. They are not responding as it should be, thus they have slowed down the pace of work on the budget proposal.

    “We can’t give time because the heads of MDAs are not responding.”

    A statement last night by the Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Ben Akabueze, however, faulted claims that lack of details and non-presentation of documents had affected the consideration of the budget.

    Akabueze said: “The attention of the Budget Office of the Federation has been drawn to media reports suggesting that the FGN 2018 Budget was submitted to the National Assembly without details for some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). We have also received enquiries along same lines from concerned members of the public. It has therefore become necessary to clarify the facts regarding this matter.

    “Mr. President submitted the budget with all the usual details required by NASS to process the Budget.

    We would like to emphasize, for the avoidance of doubt, that on 7th November, 2017 President Muhammadu Buhari, as constitutionally stipulated, laid before the National Assembly (NASS) the Executive budget proposals for 2018 with all the usual details required by the National Assembly to process the budget.

    “This included the details of the budgets of all federal MDAs based on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) budget templates.

    “Complaints about additional information with respect to the budgets of Government Owned Agencies (GOEs) are being addressed.

    On a related issue we would also like to point out, in response to concerns that have been raised by the public, that the FGN Budget is distinct from the budget of Government Owned Enterprises (GOEs) and as such any delay in the GOEs providing additional details on their budgets should not affect the early passage of the FGN Main Budget.

  • Kosofe unveils N2bn budget

    Kosofe Local Government Chairman, Hon Afolabi Babatunde Sofola has presented a N2,148,188,2018.38 budget for the year 2018 to the council’s legislative council and EXCO members.

    The budget, tagged “Budget of Infrastructural Development and Renewal of Hope,” allocates a lion’s share of 35 per cent (N747,982,620.39) to Education. General Public Services comes second with 28% allocation, totaling N590,072, 457.00.

    27 per cent (N527,640,057.35) goes to Works, Housing and  Infrastructure. This, the chairman explained, is to take care of lighting of some roads constructed by the local government. It will also go into constructing new ones, as well as rehabilitating old ones and maintaining clean drainages.

    Health, and Waste and Environmental Sanitation get 4 per cent each: N109,725,439 and N88, 267, 633.56 respectively.

    Women Affairs & Poverty Alleviation, WAPA gets N24,500,000.00 (1 per cent) while Agric and Social Development gets N88, 267,633 (1 per cent).

  • Oyo Assembly passes N271b budget

    Oyo Assembly passes N271b budget

    The Oyo State House of Assembly yesterday passed the 2018 Appropriation Bill of N271.57 billion.

    This followed adoption of reports and recommendations of the House Committee on Public Accounts, Finance and Appropriation, led by Mrs Bolanle Agbaje.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Assembly, presided over by Speaker Michael Adeyemo, consented to the bill.

    NAN also said the Assembly passed the bill after a clause-by-clause considerations and amendment proposed to the initial N267 billion presented by Governor Abiola Ajimobi on December 14.

    Ajimobi christened the bill a Budget of Stabilisation.

    The Assembly approved N119.631 billion as recurrent expenditure and N149.941 billion as capital expenditure.

    The Speaker hailed the committee for a thorough scrutiny of the budget.

    He implored the executive to ensure a quick assent to the bill.

    Adeyemo urged it to work in line with findings of the Assembly to enable it achieve a good budget performance.

  • Emmanuel signs N646.65b 2018 Budget into law

    Emmanuel signs N646.65b 2018 Budget into law

    Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has signed into law the 2018 Appropriation Bill with a total outlay of N646.65billion from N651 billion estimates presented to the House of Assembly last year.

    Emmanuel, who performed the ceremony at the Government House, Uyo yesterday, commended the Speaker, Mr. Onofiok Luke and members of the assembly for painstakingly going round the projects sites to ensure due process was followed before passing it into law.

    Highlights of the Act shows that recurrent expenditure was raised to 94.65 billion from 92.657billion  earlier proposed while the capital expenditure was however reduced from N437.674 billion to N431.14 billion with consolidated revenue was kept at N120.86 as proposed.

    Emmanuel noted that his administration would continue to seek the cooperation of the Federal Government in the release of funds due the state to enable the full implementation of the Act.

    He expressed appreciation to the Head of various Ministries, Departments and Agencies for the cooperation they accorded the House of Assembly Appropriation Committee which contributed to the timely passage of the law.

    Commissioner for Finance Linus Nkan, who spoke with reporters shortly after the budget signing ceremony, said government was comfortable with the oversight role played by the assembly.

  • Anambra Assembly may pass 166.9b budget this week

    Anambra Assembly may pass 166.9b budget this week

    The Anambra State House of Assembly is poised to pass the 2018 appropriation bill this week.

    This indication was given yesterday after the ministries finished their budget defence before the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation.

    Chairman of the Committee Obinna Emenaka (Anambra East) said the budget would likely be passed by the end of the week so that the governor can start work on it.

    The 36 Ministries, Departments, Agencies and Parastatals had been defending their budgets in the last one week.

    Emenaka said: “Budget defence is a very important legislative function which we did not handle with kids gloves, trusting that once the bill is passed, all officers concerned will swing into action.

    “Our primary duty is to ensure that the people get what they deserve in terms of good governance, and it is the duty of the lawmakers to give them a voice.

    “We promised to give the people quality representation and a hope to live a healthy life, through placing all dots in governance alright and we have lived up to our promise.

    “We will pass the budget soon and carry out our oversight functions to ensure that each ministry uses the money it gets purposefully.”

  • Ahmed promises 90 per cent budget implementation

    Ahmed promises 90 per cent budget implementation

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has promised that his administration remains resolute in achieving over 80 per cent budget implementation on capital projects.

    Ahmed, who spoke while inspecting ongoing projects in Ilorin yesterday, reaffirmed the government’s determination to bridge infrastructure deficit in the state.

    A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, said: “The administration achieved 70 per cent budget implementation last year and we are determined to achieve between 80 and 90 per cent this year.”

    He explained that infrastructure is key in facilitating socio-economic development, and promised that the government would not relevant in providing critical infrastructure for the development of Kwara State.

    The governor has commiserated with the Emir of Ilorin, the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), families and friends, on the death of Justice Saka Yusuf.

    The deceased was the state’s former chief judge.

    A statement by Oba described Justice Yusuf’s death as the exit of a fearless but God-fearing legendary legal luminary.

    The statement reads: “The late Justice Saka contributed his quota to the state and humanity within the opportunities available to him as a Chief Judge of the state and former National President of the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU). No doubt, the exit of this legal icon will be missed by his family in particular and the state in general.”

    Ahmed prayed God to grant the deceased rest and the families, friends and the entire Emirate the fortitude to bear the loss.

  • 2018 Budget: Council holds stakeholders meeting

    2018 Budget: Council holds stakeholders meeting

    Surulere local government chairman, Hon Tajudeen Ajide, has met with stakeholders and representatives of wards in the LG area in order to harmonise the 2018 budget.

    The well-attended stakeholders meeting had in attendance community leaders, Community Development Committee (CDC) leaders, party leaders, traditional rulers, market leaders, the corporate community, NURTW leaders, representatives of artisans, youth leaders and the leadership of the local government, head of revenue and other revenue officials of the council.

    Given the opportunity to present their expectations from the local government, the proposition ranges from road rehabilitation to drainage construction, youth empowerment, sports facility, market rehabilitation secretariats for some, monthly stipends for the aged and the physically-challenged.

    Reacting, Ajide said all propositions would be looked into by the local government and all stakeholders will feel the effect of its government.

    “They have told us what they want and we have taken notes. It would help us to plan for the year and know where to direct our work,” said Ajide.

    Two weeks ago, Ajide had opened the 218-metre Alhaji Thanni Street in the Alhaji Masha area of the metropolis. The road, linking Alhaji Masha on the north and Adeniran Ogunsanya Street on the west, will expectedly bring relief to residents and allow outbound access to vehicular traffic.

    In the same vein, the local government is at an advance stage of completing a new customary court, located at Benson Street, in the Surulere I Magisterial district of Lagos State.

     

  • Lalong signs 146b budget

    Lalong signs 146b budget

    Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has signed the 2018 budget of N146 billion.

    He called on citizens to cooperate with the government in internal revenue generation to finance the budget.

    Lalong said: “Having listened carefully to the synopsis of this bill, especially as it pertains to its financing, may I, therefore, state categorically that there is need for all agencies of government to rise to the challenge of remitting revenues appropriately, failure of which our aim of rescuing our people and consolidating on the gains already achieved becomes a mirage.

    “It is my belief that with commitment, financial prudence and resilience, we will together, achieve what has been earmarked for this fiscal year.

    “While the government fulfils its own side of the bargain, the people need to reciprocate by paying their taxes and other levies as and when due. More so, the government alone cannot do it, as no man is capable of clapping with one hand.”

    The budget shows an increase of N918 million, representing 0.63 per cent from the initial N145.5 billion presented to the Assembly.

    The governor said the increase followed the inclusion of money for constituency projects and other critical areas.

    Capital expenditure will cost N70.5 billion, representing 48.16 per cent while N75.9 billion, representing 51.84 per cent, would go for recurrent expenditure.

  • Senate committee on INEC holds budget defence in Abuja

    Senate committee on INEC holds budget defence in Abuja

    Senate C’tee on INEC holds Budget Defence in Abuja.

    Pic 15. From left: National Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu; INEC Chairman, Prof. Yakubu Mahmood and another National Commissioner, Hajiya Amina Zakari, during INEC Budget Defence before the Senate Committee on INEC at the National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday (24/1/18).
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    Pic 17. Chairman Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Sen Rafiu Ibrahim (r), with members of the committee, Sen Sam Anyawu (l), and Sen Philips Gynuka, during their meeting with Asset Management Cooperation of Nigeria (AMCON) Management Team at the National Assembly in Abuja on Wednesday (24/1/18).
    00441/24/1/2018/Hogan Bassey/ICE/NAN

    NAN