No more automatic releases of capital votes –Minister

The minister of budget and national planning,
Udoma Udo-Udoma, said on Tuesday that the era of
automatic release of capital allocations in the annual
budget was gone, saying such releases would
henceforth depend on Ministries, Departments and
Agencies (MDAs) meeting set performance
indicators.
The minister, who disclosed this in Abuja, said this
was part of a robust monitoring and evaluation
framework developed by the ministry for effective
monitoring of the 2016 budget implementation.
“We believe that with all these measures, we will
succeed in turning the economic crisis into an
opportunity to restructure and reposition our
economy for growth and prosperity. In this way, we
will deliver the economic change we promised
Nigerians,’’ the minister said.
Mr. Udoma said the 2016 budget was designed to
help in ameliorating economic challenges in the
country, pointing that the document signals the
determination of the administration to create a
diversified economy that was no longer dependent
on crude oil proceeds.
He said the budget, which has an outlay of N6.06
trillion, and capital expenditure of N1.79 trillion (29
per cent of total budget), was aimed at reflating the
economy, creating jobs for Nigerian youths as well
as supporting the vulnerable groups.
The minister said government was not only
committed to strengthening the link between its
plans and budgeting processes to ensure better
implementation of projects and programmes, but
was determined to achieve inclusive development.