The Nigerian British chamber of commerce urges that the newly appointed ministers be disclosed promptly, following the approval of the 2019 appropriation bill of $8.912 trillion into law.
The NBCC believes that the prompt disclosure of the ministers would bring about a healthy economy. The President of NBCC, Mr Akinola Olawore, gave this recommendation in a dialogue with reporters on Monday, May 27, 2019 in Lagos.
On the 19th of December 2018, President Mohammadu Buhari proposed a Budget of N8.826 trillion to the National Assembly.
National Assembly Increases The 2019 Budget.
On the 30th of April 2019, the Senate approved the 2019 budget of N8.912 trillion which is N90 million more than the figure presented by the president.
President Mohammudu Buhari, however, was not happy with the budget increase. He said it would be difficult to implement the budget appropriately due to the increase in the bill.
“This increase reflects changes introduced by the National Assembly. In some areas, expenses we proposed were reduced while in other areas they were increased. There were also certain areas where new additions were introduced into the budget. Of course, some of these changes will adversely impact our programs making it difficult for us to achieve the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP),” stated Buhari.
The President of NBCC, Mr Akinola Olawore, however, said that the bill approval is timely, as it’s close to the swearing in of new ministers. He urges that the new cabinet members be announced quickly so that the budget can be implemented immediately.
Mr Olawore maintains that if the names of the ministers are disclosed soon, there would be a strong budget execution that would shoot up economy positively.
“Since it is the same party that is in power, I do not see any reason why there should be a delay, so that the ministers can hit the ground running in the discharge of their duties,’’ stated Mr. Olawore.
The NBCC president said that timely and operational execution of the appropriation bill would create more jobs and enhance the flow of liquidity into the economy, as the bill’s focus is on bridging the infrastructure deficit of the Nigeria.
President Buhari’s Resolve.
President Buhari, however, ensured that he would meet with the members of the ninth National Assembly once they emerge to discourse the variations on the budget. promised to make the budget process better and faster with the aim going back to the January to December fiscal year agenda.
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