‘Present realities have spurred 2021 budget increase’ – Rep’s Spokesman

The Nigerian House of Representatives says the five billion Naira increase in the 2021 Budget by the National Assembly was due to the present economic realities the country is and has been facing over time.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives’ Chambers of the National Assembly had on Monday passed the 2021 Appropriation Act into law with an increase from the initial proposal of N13.08 trillion to N13.58 trillion.

The spokesman of the House, Mr Benjamin Kalu, a member from Abia State while briefing journalists on the sideline of the budget, said the power to appropriate lies with the parliament, therefore the increase was part of their constitutional role to appropriate funds for government’s MDAs.

“As you know, on the 8th of October, the President laid the budget before the joint session of the House and the Senate and that budget had N13.08 trillion presented before us.

“What we passed was N13.58 trillion. It is an increase from what the President laid before us and the realities we found on ground made us push it to what we finally approved today.

“The House has approved N4.125 trillion on capital expenditure, N5.641 trillion on recurrent expenditure as well as N3.324 trillion is for Debt Service, N5.641 trillion on debt services.

“The House has also recognized that it’s important to have statutory transfers and that N496.528 billion has been approved for that.

“This is to show our commitment to Nigerians that this budget is here to stay.

It is also important to know that we are benchmarking the budget on $40 per barrel knowing fully well that our major source of income revenue is oil and gas,” Kalu explained.

The Spokesman who is the Chairman House Committee on Media and Public Affairs disclosed that the National Assembly last week extended the implementation of the 2020 capital budget to meet up with the delay caused by the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic.

He said; “As you are aware on Thursday (last week) we were approached by the executive to shape the implementation timeline of the 2020 budget from the end of December to about March of the coming year.

“The reason is that the impact of COVID-19 made it difficult for them to actually implement the budget of 2020 due to unprecedented circumstances.

“The House was actually impressed that the MDAs were able to raise this complaint stating that if we go by the 31st December of the implementation calendar of the 2020 budge, 75% of the fund allocated for implementation will be coming back to the treasury which is not good for the implementation of things they proposed in the budget.

“The implementation of capital expenditure we have needs an extension of about 90 days to enable them to meet up with their target.”

Kalu speaking on behalf of the house urged that  President Muhamadu Buhari give assent to the Appropriation Bill passed to enable the prompt and adequate release of funds to implement the projects captured in the budget.

Suzan O