30th November, 2021
By Friday Idachaba
Kogi House of Assembly has asked Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the state to ensure equity, accountability and transparency in the implementation of the 2022 budget.
The Assembly said this while declaring budget defence for the MDAs open on Tuesday.
Mr Aderonke Aro (APC-Yagba East) who declared the defence open on Tuesday in Lokoja said the exercise was part of the constitutional mandate of the Assembly to scrutinise official spending in government institutions.
He urged heads of MDAs in the state to be forthcoming with useful information in the defence of their budgetary estimates to make the exercise a success.
Aro expressed optimism that the exercise would enable the emergence of an implementable budget with adequate provisions for various sectors, capable of transforming and making the state a better place.
He charged MDAs to be equitable and transparent in defending their budgets to enhance the implementation and transformation of various sectors.
Defending the budget of Government House Administration, Mrs Stella Ayodele, Director of Administration and Finance (DAF), said new projects were not captured in the 2022 budget as the focus was on completion of ongoing ones.
Ayodele, in her submission before the House standing Committee on protocol, privileges, said the Government House was not a revenue generating agency.
She said the reduction in the 2022 capital estimate was basically as a result of figures picked from 2021 budget, which suffered poor releases in the outgoing year.
Speaking earlier, Muktar Bajeh (APC-Okehi), Chief Whip and Chairman, House Committee on Government House Administration, called for better performance in the 2022 fiscal year.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Yahaya Bello on Oct. 28, presented an Appropriation Bill of N145.89 billion tagged, “Budget of Accelerated Results” to the Assembly for scrutiny and approval.