Senate set to Review 2017 Budget for Even Distribution of Projects
FCT-The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, has made is clear that the N7.289 trillion 2017 budget estimates presented to the National Assembly in December last year would be carefully reviewed for a fair distribution of projects nationwide.
The senate President Bukola Saraki, who stated this at the end of the general debate on the fundamental principles on the budget in the Senate, instructed the chairmen of standing committees to reflect that during budget defence with the various government ministries and agencies.
He said to guarantee compliance, the leadership will meet with the chairmen next Tuesday preparatory to a public hearing holding between February 7 and 8.
exact words: "We are doing this exercise in the spirit of equitable distribution of projects. I will like all our respective committees to take note of that and ensure that we do our best to make this exercise better than last year.
"We must take note of some of the contributions by our colleagues. Although we passed a law that a percentage of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) should go to the health sector which till date has still not been implemented, the fact remains that the budget for the sector is still below the minimum we agreed."
Consequently, the upper chamber of the National Assembly suspended plenary till February 21 to allow for the various government ministries and agencies to defend their budgets.
yesterday, a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by its Senior Resident Representative, African Development, Mr. Amine Mati, yesterday, met with the House of Representatives committees on Finance, Appropriations and Debts, Loans and Aids to have a first-hand knowledge of what the Federal Government was doing to tackle the prevailing recession in the country.
From the statement of Mati, his organisation was worried about the economic situation in Nigeria and had find solution to assess the situation with a view to compiling a report in the coming weeks, adding that the move would be useful to both parties.
exact words: "I am pleased to inform you that the IMF normally carries out assessment such as this, at least once in a year on countries going through one form of economic challenge or the other.
"To compile our reports, we usually meet with governments, members of parliaments, civil society groups and other bodies to get their views. "The report we intend to do on the Nigerian situation will probably be in March this year. The panels' heads were unanimous that government was up and doing in bailing the country out of the crisis.
The senate President Bukola Saraki, who stated this at the end of the general debate on the fundamental principles on the budget in the Senate, instructed the chairmen of standing committees to reflect that during budget defence with the various government ministries and agencies.
He said to guarantee compliance, the leadership will meet with the chairmen next Tuesday preparatory to a public hearing holding between February 7 and 8.
exact words: "We are doing this exercise in the spirit of equitable distribution of projects. I will like all our respective committees to take note of that and ensure that we do our best to make this exercise better than last year.
"We must take note of some of the contributions by our colleagues. Although we passed a law that a percentage of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) should go to the health sector which till date has still not been implemented, the fact remains that the budget for the sector is still below the minimum we agreed."
Consequently, the upper chamber of the National Assembly suspended plenary till February 21 to allow for the various government ministries and agencies to defend their budgets.
yesterday, a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by its Senior Resident Representative, African Development, Mr. Amine Mati, yesterday, met with the House of Representatives committees on Finance, Appropriations and Debts, Loans and Aids to have a first-hand knowledge of what the Federal Government was doing to tackle the prevailing recession in the country.
From the statement of Mati, his organisation was worried about the economic situation in Nigeria and had find solution to assess the situation with a view to compiling a report in the coming weeks, adding that the move would be useful to both parties.
exact words: "I am pleased to inform you that the IMF normally carries out assessment such as this, at least once in a year on countries going through one form of economic challenge or the other.
"To compile our reports, we usually meet with governments, members of parliaments, civil society groups and other bodies to get their views. "The report we intend to do on the Nigerian situation will probably be in March this year. The panels' heads were unanimous that government was up and doing in bailing the country out of the crisis.
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