The Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday barred heads of federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from lobbying the National Assembly to review the 2012 budget proposal.
Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, disclosed this after the council meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House.
He said council took the decision to prevent the usual occurrence where some chief executive officers of MDAs went back to the National Assembly to distort the budget proposal already submitted by the president.
He said such distortions accounted for the problems encountered in the implementation of budgets annually.
“Henceforth, no MDA was allowed to go to the National Assembly and seek a fresh budgetary estimate outside the one that the Federal Executive would have carefully sat down to plan and send to the National Assembly.
“This practice has been distorting the way our budgets are implemented. Today, the FEC resolved that if there is any MDA that has any urgent need to review the estimates that the Mr President has placed before NASS, that MDA or parastatal must follow the normal process of getting back to the Ministry of Finance for approval.
“But the practice where even without soliciting any prompting, MDAs and Chief Executive of Parastatals go out? of their ways to seek alteration in the budget plan as presented by the President to the National Assembly, will no longer be tolerated.’’
The minister said council also directed all ministers to ensure the implementation of the directive at the various departments and agencies under them.
Similarly, Maku said FEC had put all the ministers on notice that as soon as the budget was passed and assented to, they should fast-track its implementation.
He said the president specifically directed that all projects that required council’s approval should be passed not later than June to ensure prompt and flawless implementation.
He said the meeting also reiterated that there would be no extension of the financial year beyond December 31, 2012.
According to Maku, the meeting also decided that, in order to cut cost, the country will henceforth stop the hosting of international conferences that are not budgeted for at the beginning of the year.
He said ministers and other chief executives were admonished not to accept to host international meetings and conferences without approval.
Maku said that the meeting also took time out to review a book titled “If we can put a man on the mood’’ authored by two American researchers.
He said the book centred around former American President, John Kennedy’s challenge to place his country on the mood for development.
Maku said the book was reviewed by Council to learn the principles of how to translate ideas to concrete projects and deliver services to the nation.
The Minister of Trade and Tourism, Mr. Edem Duke, who briefed newsmen alongside Maku, disclosed that council also approved the construction of a Monument Resort to be located in the FCT to? mark the Nigeria’s Centenary celebration in 2014.
Duke said the resort, which would span about 300 hectares, would be built by the private sector with government as a guiding partner.
He explained that the “iconic’’ resort will accommodate national monument, recreation and entertainment facilities as well as other commercial activities.
Duke said council took the decision following due consideration of the preliminary report of a committee set up for the centenary celebration.