By Haruna Salami
The Senate has extended the implementation period of N13.1trillion capital component of the N34 trillion 2024 budget again instead of June 30, 2025.
The implementation period for the capital component of the budget was originally fixed for January 1st 2024 to December 31st 2024, but was extended to June 30, 2025 in December 2024
However, in view of many projects tied to the budgets that are yet to be executed, the Senate on Tuesday during plenary extended the life span of the capital component to December 31st , 2025 through an amendment bill sponsored by its Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Solomon Olamilekan.
Senator Olamilekan, in his lead debate on the amendment bill for extension of implementation period of the capital component said the need for the fresh extension, is to allow full implementation of budget to allow MDA’s utilize effectively, large proportion of funds released to them.
“Given the critical importance of some key projects nearing completion, the extension of the expiration clause is expedient to avoid compounding the problem of abandoned projects .
“I therefore urge my colleagues to give their full support to the bill to allow full utilization of the capital releases for six months to reflate the economy”, he said.
In their contributions, many of the Senators who spoke expressed their anger on the request for fresh extension of implementation period for the capital component of 2024 budget.
They lamented that there was nothing to show for earlier extensions granted in terms of project execution.
Specifically, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi (Kebbi North) said: “The credibility of this government is getting down. There has never been a time in the history of National Assembly where the appropriation bill is extended twice in one cycle.
“The Executive Arm of government needs to explain to Nigerians what’s happening”.
Also in his own contribution , Senator Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West), said though the request should be granted, but relevant committees of the Senate must find out why the capital components of the budget are not being implemented.
“We are not opposed, in principle, to the extension as the minority leader and my colleagues here have spoken.
“But I associate with the need to investigate. We need our relevant committees to do that. Why are we not having enough money to implement the budget?
“All of us supported the withdrawal of fuel subsidies, meaning that there is even more money. All the other levels of government are getting far more money. Some of us managed recessions for six years. Now they are getting so much money. The state governments and the local government, which is good. So that means that money or availability of money is not the challenge.
“Our committee, as a matter of fact both committees led by the Appropriation Committee and perhaps the Committee on Finance as well, to jointly, within the next one week, undertake an inquiry and report back to us why this has happened, so that we don’t have this happening again”, he said.
However, in his closing remarks, the Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, said the committees are always up to their billings and that the executive is already working to make the best use of the extension.
The Senate accordingly extended the implementation period of the N13.1trillion capital component of the 2024 budget by giving the bill sponsored to that effect, expeditious consideration from first reading to third reading , all in a session.
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