Africa’s leading civic-tech organisation, BudgIT has condemned plans by the Federal Government to implement four national budgets concurrently.
With the 2024 budget currently running, the Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday, June 27, extended the lifespan of the capital component of the 2023 Appreciation Act and the 2023 supplementary budget.
In the next couple of weeks, President Bola Tinubu is expected to transmit the 2024 supplementary budget to the National Assembly, thus making it a total of four national budgets in the 2024 fiscal year.
In a statement issued by BudgIT country’s director, Gabriel Okeowo on Friday, the organisation described the situation as a worrisome development.
Okeowo noted that across the world, budgets are prepared to run for 12 calendar months, from January to December.
Should multiple budgets run at the same time, BudgIT said projects in the 2023 budget and the 2023 supplementary budget will compete with essential projects in the 2024 budget amid scarce resources available to the Federal Government.
It therefore called on the government to amend the complications of “this convoluted budgeting system and return to a disciplined January to December Budget Calendar.”
Okeowo said, “The concurrent implementation of four budgets will lead to severe budget credibility issues, as revenues projected in 2024 alone would most likely be used in implementing four different budgets, negatively impacting service delivery in critical social sectors and the provision of essential public infrastructure.”