Senate expresses worry over 2011 budget

Senate expresses worry over 2011 budget

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Written by Ayodele Adesanmi, Abuja Friday, 05 November 2010

The  Senate, on Thursday, said that the delay  in the presentation of the 2011 budget by the executive  might spell doom for the economy as the passage might equally be delayed.
The executive arm of government has not sent the budget proposal for the 2011 fiscal year, less than two months to the end of the 2010 fiscal year.
The Senate spokesman, Mr Ayogu Eze, told Senate correspondents that this might not augur well for the country, saying  that  “if they bring it late, we will pass it late, because we are going to ensure that it is thoroughly scrutinised. I don’t think that we will move away from that.”
Eze, who is the Senate Committee Chairman  on Information and Media,  disclosed that any time the budget was presented, it would not receive a hasty passage, stating that  “I am not aware that there has ever been a carry-go budgeting process in this place; I don’t know what you mean by carry-go anyway. But any budget that is presented to us is properly scrutinised and this will not be different.”
According to him, “it is desirable if the executive can conclude work on the 2011 budget and send it now, because I know that at the end of the day, if there are delays, the National Assembly would be blamed. Nigerians are more comfortable in blaming the National Assembly than blaming any other person else.”