2019 Budget: Reps Detect Errors, Order Ministries To Reconcile Figures

Lawmakers Point Out Errors In 2019 Budget

The House of Representatives has ordered the ministry of finance and budget and national planning to correct and reconcile errors noticed in the 2019 budget by the lawmakers.

The order follows the discovery of some errors noticed during the second reading of the 2019 Appropriation Bill on Wednesday.

The House, therefore, wants the ministries of finance and budget to reconcile the figures latest by Thursday (today).

At the opening of the plenary, the Majority Leader, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, led the debate on the appropriation bill, urging the lawmakers to consider the benefits of the budget.

As the debate on the budget continued, Mr Abubakar Adamu, identified some errors in the budget and called the attention of the House to it, forcing a pause in the deliberations.

Particularly, Adamu identified errors in the figures of the ministries of finance, education; budget and national planning; as well as the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara, after consulting with Adamu who walked up to him with a copy of the bill to show him the errors, followed by Gbajabiamila; the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Edward Pwajok; and the Clerk to the House, instructed lawmakers to focus only on the general principles of the budget.

The Speaker said, “After consultations by the leadership, even though it is apparent on the surface of the budget that there are so many irreconcilable differences in the figures allotted, basically we are discussing the general principles of the budget by virtues of the provisions of our rules at this time. So, we will talk about general principles at this time.

“I am sure we are not concluding the debate today (Wednesday). I will direct relevant committee chairmen to liaise with the ministries of finance and the budget and national planning, to ensure that by tomorrow, before we conclude the debate on the budget, we have the reconciled figures.

“So, for today, I want to admonish and plead with us to make sure that we confine ourselves to the general principles of the budget.”

“I am by this announcement drawing the attention of the Ministries of Budget and National Planning; and Finance to the irreconcilable differences in the figures allotted in the budget. And, unfailingly, by tomorrow, if we must continue the debate on the budget, they must give us reconciled figures.”