FCTA defends N40bn 2018 National Priority Budget

The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has defended its 2018 National Priority Budget proposal of N40, 297,122,872.00 before the Senate.

Making the presentation to the Senate Committee on Federal Capital Territory (FCT) at the National Assembly, the Minister of FCT, Mallam Muhammad Musa Bello, said the proposal was in accordance with the N40.3 billion envelope given to the FCT as its National Priority Budget by the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning.

He said 27 critical infrastructure projects totaling N40,297,122.27 had been prioritized for action under the proposal.

The minister listed some of these projects to include the B6, B12 and Circle roads traversing the National Stadium, Villa and back to the Stadium; the Greater Abuja Water Works project as well as the Extension of Inner Southern Expressway (ISEX) from the Central Bank/National Christian Centre to Galadimawa Roundabout.

He said provisions were also made to the tune N1.2 billion for in infrastructure development at major satellite towns of Kubwa, Karshi and Bwari to help stave off the weight of expansion being witnessed in the city, while major utilities and social services covering education, water supply and security at the UN building have been effectively provided for.

Bello also disclosed that the N40.3 billion FCT 2018 budget was an improvement on the N30.4 billion that was allocated to the FCT for capital projects in 2017. He said N12,198,561,434.40 billion representing 40.1 percent of the total sum has so far been released and expended.

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He described the amount as very small, saying that tremendously affected the ability of the FCTA to discharge many of the ongoing infrastructure projects.

He expressed appreciation to the National Assembly for extending the window of expenditure for the 2017 Budget and stated that it will allow for more releases to be made to offset some critical infrastructural bills in the FCT.

However, the minister regretted that allocations to the FCT from the Federal Government has been gradually reducing over the years as a result of the reduction in the revenues accruable to the Federal Government as well as the perception that the FCT is maturing and should be able to fend for itself.

He disclosed that the FCTA is working to overcome the budget shortfall through its recently reconstituted FCT Internal Revenue Service.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Dino Melaye lamented that the FCT National Priority Budget had declined from N109 billion in the recent past to N30.4 in 2017 and N40.3 billion in 2018.

According to him, “It is worthy of note that in 2017, out of N30,397,122,872 budget of FCT Administration, only N12,198,561,435.40 was accessed, leaving an unreleased balance of N18,198,561,436.60.