The Presidency has defended the existence of multiple budgets, noting that the decision of the National Assembly to extend the life span of the capital section of the 2023 Supplementary Budget was aimed at full implementation of the budget.
The President’s request to extend the capital component of the 2023 supplementary bill was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly on Thursday.
However, several groups and individuals have queried the decision of the Senate to extend the life span of the budget, making it the third national budget running concurrently in the country.
Reacting, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said there was no issue regarding the budget life span extension, stressing it was in a bid to ensure the implementation of projects in the budget.
He noted that the Senate had already explained the reason for its intervention, adding that there are projects in the old budgets that have not been implemented because of funding issues.
He said, “There’s really no issue here. The National Assembly has already explained its reason for this. There are many projects in the 2023 Budget and the (2023) Supplementary Budget that have not been executed. The idea is to achieve the implementation of such projects in the previous budgets.
“For instance, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has some allocation in the 2023 Budget and the Supplementary Budget, which, as we’re talking.
“…have not been given the cash backing to embark of the projects, automatically they have to take such projects forward to be implemented. Apparently, they weren’t able to implement it because they didn’t have the funds.
“One also knows that a lot of projects, in terms of capital budget, were not done last year so they needed to carry them forward before they can be done. That’s just basically the idea.”
