Senate Committee Chairman on Appropriation, Senator Jibrin Barau has stated that government Ministries, Departments and Agencies have enjoyed prompt release of recurrent and capital overhead funds this year.
The lawmaker stated this at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja on Thursday, when he was asked to clarify on complaints in some quarters that the Federal Ministry of Finance was not releasing funds for government agencies.
Reacting to the complaints, Senator Barau said: “I don’t think that’s correct as far as I know of capital releases to Ministries, Agencies and Department of Government. The Federal Ministry of Finance has done very well in prompt release of funds for execution of capital projects.
“They are doing very well, but the problem lies with some agencies of government that were yet to conclude procurement processes for execution of capital projects. As far as I know as the Snate Committee Chairman on Appropriation, there is so much money in accounts of some MDAs.
“In respect to implementation of the 2021 by the various agencies that have appeared before the various Committees so far, I think there was no problem so far. There’s also no problem accessing funds already released and anything contrary is not correct.
“I want to recall that the budget performance for last year was 100 hundred percent and this year, from what the Committee on Appropriation has discovered, they are doing well such that by December when the lifespan of the 2021 would expire, they would have had 100% performance too.
“I was chairing this Committee between 1999 to 2003 and I know the difference between now and then, it hadn’t been so good like this.”
Barau , from the All Progressive Congress, APC, representing Kano North Senatorial district however noted though the non-release of funds by the Federal Ministry of Finance is one of the challenges confronting government parastatals and agencies adding that his Committee has so far been monitoring the release of funds and he can effectively say, the Ministry has done well.
According to him, he has chaired Committee on Appropriation at the lower legislative Chamber years back and compared what he is witnessing now, the present administration is doing well in the release of funds.
He however advised that parastatals fulfil procurement requirements in order to access these funds.
Meanwhile, the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan had on Wednesday announced that agencies of government have only one week to finalize their budget defence.
Lawan stated at the close of plenary that any Ministry that fails to defend its budget within one week would not have opportunity to do so anymore.
