The Senate says it will not tolerate lackadaisical attitudes from government functionaries in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) concerning their defence submissions.

The Senate said it was committed to maintaining the January-December budget implementation cycle.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio gave the warning in Abuja on Tuesday at a one-day retreat on the 2024 Appropriation Bill.

Mr Akpabio, represented by Deputy Senate President Barau Jibril, said the consequences of sabotaging the envisaged passage of the 2024 budget by any top official of any MDA would not be palatable for the official or agency in the eventual passage of the bill.

The legislator said the 2024 appropriation bill was undoubtedly an event of significant national importance. He said the importance was rooted in the fact that it was another step in the 10th National Assembly’s commitments to ensure an all-inclusive budget process for the greater national good and achieve the nation’s commitment to the budget cycle.

Mr Akpabio commended the chairman and members of the appropriation committee for opening up the 2024 budget process for stakeholders’ engagement and feedback through the one-day retreat.

Mr Akpabio said stakeholders gathered were in the business of making sacrifices on behalf of the people and committed to brainstorming, researching, and offering various suggestions and solutions on behalf of Nigerians.

The senator expressed confidence that such continuous partnership and deliberations would add substantial value to the nation’s legislative work of enacting laws for good governance and the people’s interest. 

He also commended all relevant state and non-state actors for their interests and sacrifices in ensuring that the participatory processes of public engagement, geared towards a better outcome of lawmaking, were smoothly executed.

“We understand that the budget is about fiscal targets, resource allocation, public expenditure policy, productivity and efficiency. We also understand that the process is one of passage, mobilisation and execution, as well as effective monitoring and evaluation,” stated Mr Akpabio.

Mr Akpabio urged stakeholders to be open-minded, honest and factual in their deliberations.

He said there was a need to understand that Nigerians had a common goal: to drastically improve the socio-economic condition of the people in the shortest period with a budget of renewed hope.

(NAN)