• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Buhari yet to receive 2018 Appropriation Bill – Udoma

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Federal Executive Council (FEC) Wednesday expressed worries that the recently passed 2018 budget was yet to be transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent.
Minister of budget and national planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, stated this while briefing Stare House correspondents after the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The minister, while fielding questions, said a week after the 2018 budget was passed by the two chambers of the National Assembly, President Buhari was yet to have it transmitted to him for assent.
Udoma said the delay would negate the impact the budget would have on the economy, even though the government was ready to cushion the shocks that might arise as a result of the delay in the passage of the 2018 budget, which was described as the longest ever.
The minister dismissed claims credited to him in the media that President Buhari would not sign the budget, saying, “The President is yet to receive the budget, it is therefore impossible to make a statement about the budget that has not been received.
“Once we get it, we will work very quickly on it. When it is submitted, I am sure the National Assembly themselves will inform Nigerians.”
 
The budget minister noted that despite challenges, the economy was looking up with a current GDP growth rate of 1.95 percent in the first quarter of 2018.
According to Udoma, the GDP of the economy would peg at 3.5 percent despite these short comings by the fourth quarter of 2018, adding that the foreign reserves were also growing at a steady pace pegging at $47 billion as of May 2018. 
The 2018 budget, it would be recalled, was passed by both Houses of the National Assembly on May 16, 2018 about six months after it was submitted by Buhari on November 7, 2017, with the budget figure raised from N8.6 trillion to N9.1 trillion.
Minister of interior, Abdulrahman Danbazzau, also said FEC approved consultancy service for the construction of technology building, meant to accommodate data communication, command and control centre, to be managed by Nigeria Immigration Service, at the cost of N582 million.
According to Danbazzau, “We realised when we first came in that we have a lot of data which was being handled by service providers engaged in the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement. The data involves that of passport issuance, visa issuance and residence permits.
“So, we are bringing all that together in the interest of national security under the control of Nigeria Immigration Service, contrary to what has obtained in the past whereby all the service providers have been handling the databases. This is contrary to the interest of national security. The total cost of the consultancy service is N582,838,449.39 plus five percent vat at the completion period of 23 months.
“So we intend to have that which we will have total control of all the databases that has to with passports, visas and work permits.”
Minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, said the Council approved two memos he presented, saying, “The two memos are Local Jajamata River Port Complex we are trying to construct. The port is nearing completion so we are just buying the equipment Cargo clearance.
“So, I got approval for the procurement and installation of 64 tons capacity mobile crane that will help in cargo movement from the vessels to the port at the cost of €N3.5 million and another component of N203 million and N69 million for training. All together it came to N1.6 billion as the cost for the equipment.
“Also Council approved a transactional adviser to advise us on the following railway projects: Port Harcourt-Maiduguri. I have consistently said the State capitals these trains will run across will be Port Harcourt-Abia-Owerri-Umumahia-Enugu-Akwa-Abakilikii-Makurdi-Lafia-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe-Damaturu-Yola-Maiduguri.
“The one from Central line which will run from Abuja through Baru to Itakpe to Warri with a seaport at Warri. Then the one from Kano-Maradi-Kazaure-Dutse-Daura-Katsina-Jibiya and terminates at Maradi. And then the seaport in Warri.
“These special advisers are to advise us on the financial models and all that when we start our negotiations with the companies and the contractors. The contract is awarded at the cost of N280 million.”
Council also approved the award of contract for the rehabilitation of Ilarunogun Oke-Ila, Ilale Ekon road in Osun State to Ekiti State at the cost of N5,195,176,195.50.
Lai Mohamed said, “The contract is to link the two border states, it is a 34 kilometer length road. It has been embarked upon earlier on by the Osun State government but after three kilometers they gave up as they couldn’t fund it. The federal government has taken over the road, the road has always been a federal road in anyways. The completion is 15 months.”
Meanwhile also ratified the protocol on tobacco control to among other things eliminate illicit trade around tobacco industry.
Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole who also briefed at the end of the FEC meeting, said Nigeria ranks the 35th country that has now rectified the protocol, which will also check smuggling activities, tax issues, tracking the market for wrong use among other regulations.