President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday passed a damning verdict on Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) with a stern warning that, henceforth, they must stop approaching the National Assembly to lobby for fresh envelop review outside the budgetary estimate that the federal executive had carefully planned and sent to the lawmakers.
He also directed ministers to cut down on foreign trips and apply prudence in this year’s budgetary expenditure, just as he warned that “international conferences should only be considered on the basis of their true significance to ongoing national development efforts”. He warned that there would be no extension of the financial year beyond December 31, 2012.
According to the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku this practice had been distorting budget implementation in the country and therefore, “if there is any MDA or parastatal that has any urgent need to review the estimates that Mr. President has placed before the National Assembly, they must follow the normal process of going back to the Federal Ministry of Finance for approval”.