The Senate President doubled down on his earlier call that MDAs must take the budget defence exercise seriously or risk sanctions
The President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, has issued a stern warning to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government cautioning them not to take a casual approach during the budget defence exercise.
Akpabio gave the caution while speaking at an interactive session organised by the Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday at the National Assembly.
Akpabio who was represented by the Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Barau Jibrin stressed that there will be unpleasant repercussions for heads of MDAs who take such approach to defending their budgetary allocations.
He said, “Let me state clearly that the National Assembly will not tolerate lackadaisical attitude from government functionaries in all MDAs in relation to issues surrounding their defenses of submissions and our resolve to maintain the January to December budget cycle. The consequences may not be palatable for the official or the agency in the eventual passage of the 2024 Appropriation Bill.”
Speaking further, Akpabio said that the budget defence exercise is highly significant for the country because it is a continuation of the 10th National Assembly’s efforts to guarantee an inclusive budget for the benefit of the entire country and to fulfil its commitment to the January–December budget cycle.
“As the invited stakeholders and the committee settle down to this meeting, I urge you all to be open-minded, honest and factual in your deliberations. We have to understand that we have a common goal, which is to drastically improve the socio-economic condition of our people in the shortest period with the budget of Renewed Hope.”
Recall that President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday presented the proposed 2024 budget of N27.5 trillion at a joint sitting of the National Assembly.
Also recall that the Senate on Thursday 30th, November 2023, commenced debate on the general principles of the proposed budget and eventually passed it for second reading on Friday, 1st December, 2023.
