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House of Reps determined to use the Budget for infrastructural development.

13 August, 2020

The Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila at an interactive session between the House Committee on Finance and revenue-generating agencies for the consideration of MTEF and FSP documents revealed that the House will impose deep cuts in the cost of governance and prioritize infrastructural development.

He further notes:

"Our country is currently facing a fiscal crisis, compounded by the intense disruption that has been wrought on our economic performance and financial projections by the #Covid 19 pandemic.

"We are not the only ones. Nations all over the world, including those we rightly consider to be leading lights, are facing a moment of reckoning that is redefining the way the Government operates.

"All of us in the House of Representatives recognize that the challenges we now face will not abate in the medium term. Yet, we are committed to using the appropriations process as a tool for accomplishing our nation’s most pressing development objectives".

"We have a responsibility to act with urgent determination to build the infrastructure that is required to lift millions of our fellow citizens out of poverty. We recognize that we cannot accomplish these objectives using loans and outside financing alone.

Therefore, we need to impose deep cuts in the cost of governance and improve internal revenue generation and collection so that we can free up resources that can then be deployed to fund policy initiatives that will enhance the lives of our people".

"The legislature remains the keeper of the public purse, with broad constitutional authority to act on behalf of the Nigerian people, to ensure that our collective resources are efficiently administered in service of the public good. Let no one be in doubt, the House of Representatives will not hesitate to act on our constitutional authority notwithstanding whatever objections may arise."