2019 Budget: Nigerian Senate Wants Early Preparation

By Teslim Olawore [caption id="attachment_53886" align="alignleft" width="1000"] Senator Abdul'Aziz Murtala Nyako[/caption] The Chairman Senate Committee on Special Duties, Senator Abdul'Aziz Murtala Nyako, has called for early preparation and submission of the 2019 budget by the Federal Government to enable the National Assembly commence work on it as early as possible. He made the call on Wednesday during a visit to the Special Duties Office (SDO), Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Federal Secretariat Complex Abuja. Senator Nyako said the visit was to keep abreast of the performance and the implementation of the 2017 budget and monitor how the funds appropriated to the agency were being utilized for the year under review. The Senator lamented the delay in the release of funds which jeopardized the functions of the office in terms of monitoring and inspection of Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved projects and constituency projects, stating that this could amount to undue pressure on the part of management. While commending the management for utilizing the little fund allocated to the office, he urged them to put in their best performance in the implementation of projects as this year's release was much lower than last year, noting that only 10 percent of the budget was released recently. The Permanent Secretary, SDO, Chief William Alo, while giving a brief on the performance of the 2017 budget, commended the Senate Committee team. He noted that their visit is in line with the theory of separation of powers between the Executive and the Legislative arm of government, checks and balances which is a prelude to ensuring good governance, accountability, due process and transparency. He added that inadequate funding and late releases were responsible for non-execution of some of the projects planned for the year under review. It will be recalled that the Special Duties Office (SDO) has the mandate of monitoring the implementation of Federal Executive Council decisions, including programs, policies and projectssubmitted by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) apart from overseeing the implementation of zonal intervention/constituency projects nationwide