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Nigerian gov't says to ensure "full implementation" of 2016 budget

Xinhua, April 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Nigerian government on Thursday said it would ensure full implementation of the 2016 national budget in order to achieve accelerated development in the country.

At a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, said the government has developed a blueprint to ensure full implementation of the national budget.

According to him, this is to ensure that the funds are efficiently utilized toward economic development.

The minister said on the expenditure side, the government will take adequate measures to ensure the release of funds for the capital projects which will be properly monitored.

He disclosed that the crux of the national budget was targeted at import substitution and export promotion.

The 2016 national appropriation bill was passed on March 23 by the Nigerian Senate, but the final breakdown of the budget was only forwarded to the president's office on Thursday, two weeks after it was passed.

Earlier, a presidency statement said President Muhammadu Buhari will critically review the 30.4 billion U.S dollars appropriation bill before assenting to it.

According to the statement, the Nigerian leader needed to review the appropriation bill to be certain that its content was intact and with the authentic budget proposal presented to the legislature.

This is in view of the "controversial alteration and padding of the budget proposal earlier", the statement added, accusing some bureaucrats of "removing what was put in the proposal and replacing it with what they wanted".

The statement said Buhari will look at the bill that has been passed by the National Assembly, ministry by ministry, to be sure that what has been brought back for him to sign is in line with the original submission.

Buhari presented the budget proposal last December, calling for the support of the legislative arm of government for its quick passage.

After considering its conference report on the budget, the Nigerian Senate said it did not approve the original 30.5 billion U.S. dollars presented by the president to show "discipline" on its own part and to reflect "the mood of the country and the world".

This is the first time the legislative arm of government cut down proposed figures of the national budget since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999. Endit