2025 Budget: We ‘ll Allocate Funds Based On Satisfactory Assessment -Reps
The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations has stated the House will allocate funds in the 2025 budget based on satisfactory assessment by committees of the House.
This is also as the Committee declared that all ministers and chief executives of agencies must appear before its relevant standing committees to defend their 2025 budget estimates as failure to do so would come with consequences.
The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi(APC, Kano) stated this while speaking with journalists after the meeting of the panel with chairmen of standing committees Monday.
Bichi earlier in an interview with journalists after the inaugural meeting of the Appropriations Committee said the House will
commence the 2025 budget defence session with Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on Tuesday.
The Appropriation committee’s chairman said President Bola Tinubu directed all the ministers and heads of agencies to appear for the budget defence, stressing that the legislature would decide the what those who fail to turn up for the exercise get as budgetary allocations.
“We are commencing from tomorrow to 17th of this month and we are expecting that all the MDAs, both the ministers and chief executives to come out and defend their budget.
“Mr President directed them to show up so that we will know what they have done in 2024 and what are they going to do in 2025. If you don’t show up that means you don’t have anything to say so we can decide on what you can come up with in your budget,” he said.
On the recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee that some MDAs be delisted from the 2025 budget over some infractions, Bichi said:”that is the essence of budget defence now. They are coming, we will ask them questions, if we are comfortable, we can allocate the money if not, we can do otherwise.”
He told journalists that the budget defence will last till next week Friday and reports from the exercise may be harmonised on January 22 while the Appropriations Committee’s report would be laid at plenary on January 31.
The Appropriations committee’s chairman assured that the panel and standing committees will be thorough with the budget defence in the interest of Nigerians.
“We just had the inauguration meeting today for the 2025 Appropriation Bill which you have been aware that the President has presented the budget us and by tomorrow we will start the budget defence with all the MDAs. From tomorrow to 17th we are going to do our budget defence and we will likely harmonise on the 22nd and God’s willing by 31st we are going to lay our reports.
“We are going to study the budget; all our committees will study the budget. I believe the budget is for Nigerians, for our development – infrastructure and other important things and I am sure Nigerians will be happy with it,” Bichi said.
On when Nigerians should expect the outcome, he explained that it is a process. “It’s a long process actually; budget defence, harmonisation, then the report. We can say maybe towards the end of the month (January) or early next month (February).
