Finance Ministry scored F9 in budget releases to FCT in 2018 – Senate



Senate committee on Federal Capital Territory ( FCT), on Tuesday declared that the Ministry of Finance by WAEC standard , scored F9 in budget releases to the Federal Capital Territory Administration ( FCTA) in 2018 by making 31.9% releases from the N30.4billion approved.

This was as it kicked against yearly drastic reduction in the capital component budgetary allocations to the territory .

The committee kicked against the trend while having in audience , the FCT Minister , Muhammed Bello and top management staff of the capital territory for 2019 budget defence .

Capital component of FCT’s budget allocations according to the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Dino Melaye ( PDP Kogi West), has plummeted over the years from N109billion in 2008 to N30billion in 2019.

He said it was even worrisome that out of the N30.39 billion approved for capital projects in the 2017 budget of the territory , only N12.7billion was released which was about 40.1% .

The declining trend he added , worsened in 2018, when out of the N30.2billion approved as capital expenditure for the territory, only N9.6billion was released  which is just   31.9% .

“This to us by WAEC ( West Africa Examination Council ) standard, is F9 and not acceptable .

“The trend if not reversed,  is a recipe for failure as far as infrastructural  development is concerned “, he said.

According to him, the way out of the yearly poor funding of the FCT budget is for government to prioritise its spending by getting more money for FCT to execute its capital projects , particularly at the various satellite towns.

In his own remarks, the FCT Minister, Muhammed Bello said out of 33 projects proposed  in the 2018 budget for execution only 15 are being executed even at very low percentage level due to paucity of fund .

“We are happy that the F9 given was not for us but the ministry of finance which has not been upcoming on expected releases due to shortfall in projected revenue generation “, he said .

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