Kogi assembly warns against sharp practice in budget implementation

Hon. Gabriel Daudu, the Chairman, Kogi State House of Assembly Committee on Finance and Appropriation, has said the House would expose any corruption, inefficiency and wastage in the implementation of 2014 budget.
Daudu said this on Wednesday during budget defence by officials of the state Ministry of Finance at the assembly complex in Lokoja.
He, therefore, warned the ministry against concealing anything from the committee.
He said that the era of corrupt, inefficient and wasteful implementation of the budget by Ministries, Departments and Agencies was over.
The legislator assured that every financial misappropriation would be exposed while inefficiency and waste of funds would be handled according to the provisions of the law.
The Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Zakari Alfa, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Deborah Ogunmola, said the ministry would strive to ensure prudence in implementing the budget.
Alfa said that the ministry planned to generate about N116.7 million as revenue from sale of unserviceable items in 2014 fiscal year.
He, however, said the ministry was faced with challenge of shortage of office accommodation.
In a related development, the House Committee on Establishment and Public Services has tasked the MDAs to be prudent and realistic in the implementation of the budget.
The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Suleiman Babadoko, who made the call in Lokoja, reminded them that budget defence was the constitutional responsibility of the legislative arm of government.
Babadoko said that in line with the “Budget of Reality” theme of the proposal, every effort should be made towards its successful implementation.
He cautioned against repetition of projects in the proposals, saying that such projects would be expunged from the 2014 budget if they were discovered.