2 months to 2018: Concern as FCT 2017 Budget is yet to be passed into law

Residents of the FCT have raised concern over the seeming delay in the passage of 2017 budget of the territory, barley two months for the end of the year.

As it stands, more of the capital projects in the FCT have remained untouched as its approvals awaits the budget for implementation.

Commenting on the prevailing matter, Mr. Johnson Ibrahim, from Bwari Area Council in an interview with The Abuja Times, lamented the delay in the passage of the budget, just as he reminded that the year under review is just two months left.

According to him, the present administration should be up and doing to ensure that the FCT is not left out.
“I know that the minister has been up and doing but no one cannot say what went wrong. I just hope we are not in for another drama,” he said.

Another staff of the FCT, who does not want her name mentioned, stated that the delay may have been as a result of the minister’s inability to lobby through the National Assembly.

He said: “The minister should know how to play the game. I just hope we not be plunge into lack of money to pay salary subsequently.

It is a well-known fact that other state Governors play the game, so why not the FCT minister? He should try and lobby the National Assembly members for the passage even now that the year remains just two months”.

Meanwhile, owing to the delay for the passage of 2017 FCT budget and several concerns being elicited from various quarters, the FCT administration has assured that the budget will soon be passed into law for full implementation of capital projects in the Federal capital territory.

The Abuja Times recalls that the Minister of FCT, Mallam Muhammad Bello, has engaged the National Assembly committee on FCT led by Senator Dino Menaiye and his House of Representatives counterpart in ensuring that the FCT 2017 budget is passed into law.

Speaking while addressing the media on the matter, Special Assistant to the FCT Minister on Media, Mallam Sani Abubakar, said despite the delay in the passage of the appropriation document, that top officials of the administration werer at the National Assembly penultimate week for the budget defence, only to meet a delay due to sudden postponement.

Abubakar Sani, however, expressed optimism that the due to the efforts being put towards the thing, that the budget will be passed in a matter of weeks.

Part of the reasons adduced for the delay, was that the National assembly earlier had proceeded to its 60 days recess before the budget proposal was submitted to them and that since the law makers returned that they had been so busy.

He however, assured the people to be patience with the administration as the Administration is not resting on its oars in ensuring that the budgets is signed into law.