THE Senate yesterday, refused to approve N4 billion for the
construction of the controversial First Ladies Mission in Abuja.
It, however, approved the sum of N259,649,520, 705 with a shortfall of N48,716,036 over preceding year as the 2013 statutory budget of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In rejecting request for the First Ladies Mission in Africa building, the Senate said that available funds had been distributed to meet pressing needs in the areas of engineering and satellite towns.
Besides, the upper legislative chamber said it could not appropriate funds for the building due to litigation in respect of the proposed plot of land, declaring: “We cannot appropriate for a land that is not available”.
The amount approved for the nation’s capital city in the on-going year is less
than that of the 2012 fiscal year, which stood at N306,414, 159,188.It, however, approved the sum of N259,649,520, 705 with a shortfall of N48,716,036 over preceding year as the 2013 statutory budget of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In rejecting request for the First Ladies Mission in Africa building, the Senate said that available funds had been distributed to meet pressing needs in the areas of engineering and satellite towns.
Besides, the upper legislative chamber said it could not appropriate funds for the building due to litigation in respect of the proposed plot of land, declaring: “We cannot appropriate for a land that is not available”.
This followed the adoption of the “Report of the Committee on Federal Capital Territory: 2013 FCT Appropriation Bill”, presented by the committee’s chairman, Senator Smart Adeyemi (PDP, Kogi West).
Out of the amount, a total of N48,600,837,245 representing 18.7 percent was approved for personnel costs,N50,581,234,058, representing 19.5 percent for overhead costs while the sum of N160,467,449,402, representing 61.8 percent was for capital projects for the 2013 fiscal year.
Further breakdown of the budget indicated that the total recurrent expenditure stood at N99,182,071,303, representing 38.2 percent with the grand total standing at N259,649,520,705, representing 100 percent.
Earlier while presenting the report, Senator Adeyemi urged
the legislative chamber to consider the budget, saying time was of the essence
due to exigency of work needed to be done in the on-going year.
He said the committee, in carrying out its oversight duties, identified critical areas of need for development of the territory and ensure improved standard of living for its inhabitants.
“Therefore, the committee jostled with the budget estimates, deploying funds to meet areas of critical needs like roads, water, health, education and development of satellite towns within the territory, city maintenance and cleaning, recreational facilities, construction of rehabilitation centres, agriculture, transportation, security services and rehabilitation of ECOWAS Parliament Building”, he said.
Adeyemi said his committee observed that the overall performance of the statutory allocation in 2012 was only 43 percent, saying most of the projects earmarked in the year, were still on-going due to what he referred to as “overbearing ineptitude of getting the Due Process Certificate”.
“It was further observed that New and On-going projects were not sufficiently funded due to delay in the release of funds occasioned by bureaucratic bottlenecks’, he added.
In his remark, Senate President, David Mark who presided over the session, regretted that the nation’s federal Capital Territory had not lived up to expectation, saying managers of the capital city must urgently sit up.
He said: “The FCT is supposed to be a model town, a model capital city, and having passed this budget, we expect that the FCT will be a model capital city where everything functions, where we must get all the roads to be okay.
“I think there isn’t enough satellite development going on. And so there is a lot of congestion in town. Street lights are not working, the streets are not being kept in very good condition, the gardens and lawns are not being maintained. I think there are a lot of areas where FCT has to work very properly,” he noted.
Mark enjoined the relevant Senate committees on FCT to carry out oversight functions with a view to repositioning the area.
“This is where we have to employ your oversight functions, our responsibility, to make sure that things work properly.
He said the committee, in carrying out its oversight duties, identified critical areas of need for development of the territory and ensure improved standard of living for its inhabitants.
“Therefore, the committee jostled with the budget estimates, deploying funds to meet areas of critical needs like roads, water, health, education and development of satellite towns within the territory, city maintenance and cleaning, recreational facilities, construction of rehabilitation centres, agriculture, transportation, security services and rehabilitation of ECOWAS Parliament Building”, he said.
Adeyemi said his committee observed that the overall performance of the statutory allocation in 2012 was only 43 percent, saying most of the projects earmarked in the year, were still on-going due to what he referred to as “overbearing ineptitude of getting the Due Process Certificate”.
“It was further observed that New and On-going projects were not sufficiently funded due to delay in the release of funds occasioned by bureaucratic bottlenecks’, he added.
In his remark, Senate President, David Mark who presided over the session, regretted that the nation’s federal Capital Territory had not lived up to expectation, saying managers of the capital city must urgently sit up.
He said: “The FCT is supposed to be a model town, a model capital city, and having passed this budget, we expect that the FCT will be a model capital city where everything functions, where we must get all the roads to be okay.
“I think there isn’t enough satellite development going on. And so there is a lot of congestion in town. Street lights are not working, the streets are not being kept in very good condition, the gardens and lawns are not being maintained. I think there are a lot of areas where FCT has to work very properly,” he noted.
Mark enjoined the relevant Senate committees on FCT to carry out oversight functions with a view to repositioning the area.
“This is where we have to employ your oversight functions, our responsibility, to make sure that things work properly.
Source: Compass
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