Majority of members of the House of Representatives have called for a beef up of the capital component of the 2021 budget, expressing concerns on the high ratio of recurrent expenditure, in spite of huge infrastructure deficits in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari had last Thursday, laid before a joint session of the National Assembly, the budget bill, proposing an aggregate expenditure of N13.08 trillion for the 2021 fiscal year.
During debate on the general principles of the budget Bill on Tuesday, Hon. Ahmad Yunusa who commended the early presentation of the budget, however said there were areas that needed to be tinkered with.
“The National Assembly has been trying to reduce the cost of governance. We need to bridge the gap between the capital and the recurrent expenditure,” he said.
Also speaking, Hon. Stanley Akinjide, underscored the need for relevant regulatory agencies to adopt new technologies in order to curb corruption as well as block leakages and reduce the cost of governance.
Chairman of the committee on Army, Hon, Abdulrazak Namdas, in his submissions observed that the sum of N3.9 trillion on capital Expenditure above the provision in the 2019 fiscal year, just as he applauded the proposed Finance bill, 2020 aimed at increasing revenue generation. “We should work hard to pass the budget for effective planning and implementation”, he stated, even though he stressed the need to cut costs of governance.
Hon. Leke Abejide, who noted that the budget estimates as proposed by the President cannot make any meaningful impact on the citizens, urged the House to in passing the Bill, redirect funds to more productive sectors that could help in enhancing revenue generation.
A twist was added to the debate by Hon. Mark Gbilah, who in his argument stated that the budget should be withdrawn, since it was not in compliance with Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, as according to him, the threshold of deficit recommended by the Act was exceeded in the 2021 budget.
He was though ruled out of order by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila, who noted that the document before the House was yet a proposal.
It is expected that at the conclusion of debate on the Bill this morning, it would be committed to the standing committees of the House for further engagement with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
