FG fully complied with procedures in presenting 2018 budget – Akabueze

The Budget Office of the Federation has described as false, insinuations that the 2018 budget was submitted to the National Assembly without details for some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

A statement made available to BusinessDay, and signed by Ben Akabueze, director-general, Budget Office of the Federation, stated that “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.”

Akabueze further explained in the statement, that Ministers and Heads of Agencies have made themselves available to explain and defend the Budget.

“Given the seriousness the Presidency attaches to getting the 2018 budget passed so it could earnestly focus on achieving the goals set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan 2017-20 (ERGP), which formed the basis of the budget, it had directed heads of Ministries and extra-Ministerial agencies to attend to any requests for meetings/information by the National Assembly (NASS) with despatch.

“To the best of our knowledge, this directive has been complied with. Should any committees of NASS still experience any issues with attendance of any MDA, the Minister of Budget & National Planning has indicated that he is available to liaise with the particular MDA to ensure full cooperation with NASS by the relevant MDA,” said Akabueze.

The comments from Akabueze may not be unconnected with reports last week that the senate was mulling a major legislative decision as majority of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have allegedly refused to either submit details of their 2018 budget proposal or their amendments as requested by Senate committees.

Sonny Ogbuoji, vice chairman, Senate committee on appropriation, is said to have made the disclosure while briefing other lawmakers on the status of the 2018 budget on last Wednesday, prompting them to issue a one-week ultimatum to the MDAs after which, “the committees will work only with the appropriation as submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari.”

The Senate had on February 14 issued a one-week ultimatum to 63 government agencies who are yet to submit details of their 2018 budget proposals. Despite the expiration of the ultimatum,  Ogbuoji asserted that most heads of agencies have refused to interface with the Senate committees for consideration of the proposals.

Akabueze, in the statement, however, noted that “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.”

“Whilst the budgets of these GOEs are separate and distinct from the main Federal Government Budget, we would like to explain that their budgets were also included, as attachments, in the 2018 budget package presented by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly (NASS) on 7th November, 2017.

“However, as is sometimes the case, the respective Committees of the NASS which oversight the GOEs may require them to provide additional details to support their budget proposals. Following this observation by the Senate, the Budget Office intervened directly with the affected GOEs to obtain the details in the format requested by the Senate. Most of them have since complied with the Senate’s requirement,” Akabueze said.

 

CALEB OJEWALE