N222bn 2017 FCT’s Budget To Be Extended – Rep Ogun

...Says N.1M Obstruction Fine In Proposed Council Law Will Deter Offenders

The lifespan of the N222.3 billion 2017 budget for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) will be extended by the National Assembly to 2018, the acting chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on FCT , Hon. Sergius Ose Ogun (PDP, Edo), has said.

President Muhammadu Buhari (right) with Senator Ita Enang, Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), during the president’s presentation of the 2018 budget to the joint session of the National Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday. PHOTO: JIDE OYEKUNLE

Recall that the House on October 26 passed the budget, which the document showed was supposed to run from January 1 to December 31.

However, speaking to journalists in his office in Abuja, Hon. Ogun said the National Assembly would extend the budget to at least March next year to allow full implementation.

He said the passage came late because the FCT budget was presented to the National Assembly sometime in July, just before the lawmakers’ annual recess.

Despite the late passage, he said, the FCT Administration had gone ahead to advertise for certain projects in anticipation of the budget passage, which he said was in order.

A breakdown of the FCT budget showed that the sum of N129.3bn is for capital projects; N52.5bn for personnel costs and N40.4bn is for is for overhead.

Also making clarifications on the N500,000 fine and prison term proposed in a bill for the creation of the Federal Capital Territory Metropolitan Management Council as punishment for resident obstructing officials from performing their duty, the lawmaker said it is meant to serve as a deterrent.

“You know in Nigeria, we are not a country that respects laws and that’s why we are where we are. We expect things to just happen naturally. There’s nowhere in the world where things happen naturally. I’m sure we all travel abroad. Traffic laws are obeyed, and if they are not obeyed, there’s stiff punishment.

“So why things don’t work in Nigeria is because when you insist on applying the law, they shout and say why are you punishing somebody? We need to begin to think in that direction, because we are a developing nation who wants to be a developed nation some day.

“What are the things that are working in the developed countries? So let’s imbibe them so our country can also become a developed country. But when people obstruct the laws, they don’t allow you achieve your developmental target. But if they know there are penalties, if you know that not allowing a council official perform his duties, you will go to jail for it, not only go to jail, but you will pay heavily and then go to jail, it will serve as a deterent”, he said.

He however clarified that the sponsor of the bill, Hon. Uzoma Abonta in his penalty clause actually suggested N200,000, adding that it was the FCT minister, Musa Mohammed who sought the increase to N500,000 to serve as a deterrent.

“It’s not because you don’t like the people, but because you want things to work for them”, Ogun added.