Senate shifts 2021 budget to ensure projects completion

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday voted to shift the 2021 budget cycle from March 31st to May 31st to allow the government complete ongoing infrastructure projects.

The budget is expected to run for one year, starting from the day it was passed into law.

Based on this, Senator Yayah Abdullahi (Kebbi North) introduced a bill seeking to amend the 2021 Appropriation Act. The bill calls for the suspension of Rule 78(1) of the Senate Standing Orders 2022 (as amended).

This was to ensure that the bill on the amendment of the budget life scale through all the legislative stages at once and passed into law.

Leading the debate, Senator Abdullahi said extending the budget period would enable the government to complete ongoing projects that are almost at completion stages.

“As you are aware, the 2021 Virement of the aggregate sum of N276 billion was approved for several MDAs by the National Assembly in December, 2021 along with 100 percent release of the 2021 Capital Budget of the MDAs.

“A significant portion of the releases to the MDAs has been utilized following the extension to 31st March, 2022.

“In view of the critical importance of some key projects nearing completion, it is expedient to grant further extension of the expiration clause to avoid compounding the problem of abandoned projects given that some of the projects were not provided for in the 2022 budget hence the need to extend the implementation year form 31 March 2022 to 31st May 2022.”

The bill was eventually passed.