Unlike other years, the Federal and State Governments are in a last-minute rush to pass their 2020 budgets into law and publish the same in the first week of January’s deadline given by the World Bank.
Before now, the Federal Government and states used to pass their budgets late in the year while the financial year begins January.
For instance, most governments passed and signed their 2019 budgets into law this year, ignoring the implications of running budgets without adhering to due process.
Findings by Straightnews show that late passage of the budget into law coupled with operating the same without approval dented the corruption profile of the Federal Government.
The National Assembly and State Assemblies that used to sit on the quick passage of the budgets have made frantic efforts this year in passing the financial proposal into law.
Neither Mr. President nor the Governors have wasted time in turning the budget into an Act for the government to access the funds from January.
However, the speed in passing and signing the budgets into law, this time around, is not unconnected with the World Bank’s pledge to release $3 million to any government for early passage and publication of the same in its websites the first week of January of 2020.
In setting the tone, President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, December 17, 2019, signed the $34.62 billion (N10.59 trillion) 2020 appropriation bill into law.
Akwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel on December 18, 20198 followed in signing the 2020 appropriation bill of N597.735 billion into law.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Ogun State joined in signing the 2020 budget into law on December 23, 2019 “The total amount passed by the state House of Assembly was N213,788,33,2.97, showing an increase of 4,935,60,124.97.
Also, Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde signed the N182 billion budget for 2020 into law on September 5, 2019.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, had on December 24, signed the 2020 budget of N480, 411, 324, 647 into law after passage by the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Gombe State Governor, Muhammad Inuwa Yahaya, on Saturday, December 28 signed the N130.83 billion Appropriation Act tagged ‘Budget of Change’ for 2020, showing N71.04 billion for capital expenditure and N59.78 billion for recurrent expenditure into law as passed by the Gombe State House of Assembly.
To meet the deadline, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State has signed N449.97 billion into law, Samuel Ortom of Benue State signed N189 billion budget into law and Alhaji Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa also signed N108 billion.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Tuesday, December 31, 2019, signed an N1.168 trillion 2020 Appropriation Bill of the state into law, promising that his administration would strive to fully implement it.
Governors Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa and Mai Bala Buni of Yobe State had signed theirs into law.
