National
Early Budget Passage: Buhari Should Play His Part – Ekweremadu
The deputy president of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to do his part in speeding up the processing of the budget of the Federal Government saying that late presentation of the budget was the primary cause of the delay.
Ekweremadu spoke against the background of the veiled and unveiled condemnation of the National Assembly by the president and his aides for the delayed passage of the budget.
The 2019 budget which was assented to by the president on Monday was first presented to the National Assembly in late December 2018, a day before the National Assembly went on Christmas Break.
In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Ekweremadu said:
“His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, signed the 2019 Appropriation Act (Budget) a while ago. This is a welcome development for the nation’s economy and government business.
“However, we still have to address the challenge of late laying and approval of budget. We took care of it in the constitution amendment efforts of the 8th National Assembly, which I was privileged to pilot in the Senate.
“We wanted an adherence to the January-December budget cycle. The amendment requires the President to cause the budget to be laid before the National Assembly not later than 90 days to the end of the fiscal year (latest in September), while the National Assembly must process and approve the budget before the end of the fiscal year (that is, latest by December).
“We reduced the number of months the President can authorise expenditure from the Consolidated Revenue Fund based on previous year’s budget (in the absence of a new budget) from six to three months.
“The provisions apply to the States also. Unfortunately, it was one of the Constitution Amendment Bills vetoed by the President.
“Going forward, I believe the 9th National Assembly and the Presidency should revisit the issue to ensure that it succeeds in subsequent constitution amendment exercise.”
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