2020 Budget: APC confident of early passage by NASS

Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed confidence in the ability of the Ninth National Assembly to cooperate with the Executive to ensure early passage of 2020 national budget presented to them Tuesday October 8, 2019 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Party gave this expression in a statement issued in Abuja Wednesday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, copy of which was sent to The DEFENDER.

According to Issa-Onilu, the APC “welcomed the commitment of both the executive and legislative arms to ensure budget passage is returned to January-December cycle.”

He said: “To put this into effect, our party notes the early presentation by the President, leaving the lawmakers near three months to consider and pass the budget.

“The Party, therefore, congratulates the President and all APC members on the early presentation of the proposed 2020 Budget of a record N10.33 trillion naira which surpasses the N8.916 trillion budgeted for 2019.

“The proposed 2020 budget is targeted at consolidating on the gains the current administration has made in revamping our power, rail and road infrastructure; diversification and retooling the economy; social intervention programmes targeted at the poor; fight against emerging crimes, insurgency and rehabilitation, rebuilding of the North East particularly through the newly-established North East Development Commission, among other critical interventions.

“According to the President in his budget speech, tagged “Budget of sustaining growth and job creation”, there is a renewed government’s commitment to plugging revenue leakage with the continued strict implementation of the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

“We congratulate the leaders of the two chambers of the 9th National Assembly, Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila for creating a convivial environment for the budget presentation exercise, a welcomed departure from the usual tensed and adversarial atmosphere of the previous four years.

“The Party is confident that the patriotic disposition of the leaders and members of the 9th National Assembly would ensure a cordial relationship with the executive arm, which would surely translate to good governance and proper implementation of the administration’s Next Level plans for Nigerians,” he said.