House of Reps to pass FCT budget Dec. 19
Tony Akowe, Abuja
The House of Representatives is to pass the budget of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday, December 19, 2019 to return the FCT to the January to December budget circle.
Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila told the House Committee on FCT to work diligently throughout the weekend on the budget and submit its report to the House so that it can be passed before the House goes on vacation on The 19th of December.
He told them that they should not sacrifice thorough scrutiny of the budget on the alter of quick consideration, adding that having attained the January to December budget circle for the federal government, they should be able to achieve the same for the FCT.
The FCT budget of N232.875 billion was sent to the National Assembly on Tuesday by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The sum of N53,876,241,095.00 (Fifty Three Billion, Eight Hundred and Seventy-Six Million, Two Hundred and Forty-One Thousand and Ninety-Five Naira) is for Personnel Costs while N57,070,343,435.00 (Fifty Seven Billion and Seventy Million, Three Hundred and Forty-Three Thousand, Four Hundred and Thirty-Five Naira) Only, is for Overhead Costs.
N121,928,781,4l7.00 (One Hundred and Twenty One Billion, Nine Hundred and Twenty Eight Million. Seven Hundred and Eighty-One Thousand, Four Hundred and Seventeen Naira) only, is for Capital Projects for the Service of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
Deputy House Leader, Hon. Peter Akpatason who moved for the bill to be read a second time gave a breakdown of the budget estimate before yielding the floor to the Deputy Chairman of the House Committee on FCT.
Speaking in the need to allow the budget go through second reading, Deputy Chairman of the Committee on FCT, Blessing Onuh (APGA, Benue) told her colleagues that the FCT play a dual role of a state and a Ministry and thus runs a dual budget.
She said as a Ministry, the FCT operates the federal budget while as a state, it runs a statutory budget funded with the one percent allocation from the federation account as well as internally generated revenue.
She said being the landlords of the President, the National Assembly and foreign missions in addition to several other Nigerians, there was a heavy responsibility on it to provide Tue necessary infrastructure for the smooth running of government and other responsibilities.
– The Nation
