Reps read Riot Act to MDAs on budget implementation

The House of Representatives has issued a warning to defaulting Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that failed to implement the 2021 budget, stating that the defence of their 2022 budgets will be rejected and they may not get appropriations.

This was disclosed by the Reps spokesman, Benjamin Kalu (APC-Abia) at a news conference on Thursday, in Abuja, after the 2022 budget passed second reading on the floor of the house.

According to Kanu, the house frowns at MDAs that took monies from government and failed to implement what it was meant for.

“It is one thing to move the budget early enough, it is one thing to return the budget from January to December circle, but it’s another thing to sabotage the government by saying you have not received 100 per cent funding and so there will be no implementation.

“There is no place where the Appropriation Act says you must receive 100 per cent funding before you start implementation.

“We frown at agencies of government that say we have only received 75 per cent, we only received 60 per cent and we are waiting for more to come before we begin, why don’t you start with the 60 per cent and when others come, you mobilise?

“To wait until the dying minute and then you give contractors 100 per cent, for them to perform, before coming for budget defence is a wrong strategy.

“This is one thing we want the MDAs to change and we are going to be on the lookout in the budget implementation defence when they appear before us.

“Most of them will be sent back, any MDAs that took government monies, kept it in the bank and refused to use it and are coming to tell us that it was not complete, they will be sent back.

“Some of them may not get appropriation for the new budget, because until you have justified what you took before, what is the essence of asking for more,’’ he said.

Read also: Army Chief reads Riot Act to personnel

The lawmaker said that the house would also be on the look for MDAs that ignored resolutions of the house in their budget preparation.

“If you ignore the resolution of the parliament, and drafted your own budget without making reference to what the representatives of the Nigerian people have asked you to please consider, you have acted on your own, it is an exercise in futility.

“Because we are going to pick it up and match it against the Legislative Compliance Committee’s report and find out if the MDAs are complying with legislative resolutions, it is no longer an all comers’ affairs.

“If you ignore legislative resolutions and out of the blues you bring what is totally strange to us, be sure that we will question you on that and you must justify it or we take it out,’’ he said.

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