KADUNA – Members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Kaduna State House of Assembly on Wednesday rejected the state government’s supplementary budget of N3.4 billion.
The Minority Leader of the house, Alhaji Muhammed Ali, disclosed this to newsmen shortly after the presentation of the Appropriation and Implementation Committee’s report in respect of the budget in Kaduna.
Ali said the members of the APC at the assembly did not support the passage of the budget.
”We do not want to be part of any decision that does not take into account the collective wishes of the mases whom we are representing,” he said. [eap_ad_2] According to the minority leader, some issues need to be revisited by the house before its passage.
”The security sector was allocated N600 million and also the issue of SURE-P and purchase of Ebola equipment was N200 million.
“The issue of security needs to be revisited for very obvious reason and the SUPE-P, as well, which is intended to assist the poor in the society in order to better their lives,” he said.
On the procurement of Ebola equipment, Ali said the amount allocated to it was too high, compared to other sectors that needed much attention.
”With all honesty, we don”t have Ebola in Kaduna State and there is nothing wrong in taking preventive measures but what we are saying is that the amount allocated for the equipment is on the high side.
”We noticed that people are trying to be sentimental, looking at it from the angle of what needed to be done but not from the angle of partisanship,” he said.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Mr Joshua Barde, while presenting the report, requested for the inclusion of the expected revenue from 2014 SURE-P funds and called for the approval of the budget.
Barde also said that the commitee observed that the revenue expecetd from the 2014 petroleum Subsidy Reinvestment Programme (SURE-P) was not captured in the 2014 approved budget of the government.
According to him, the expected revenue of N3.4 billion, when approved by the house, would allow the state government to utilise the funds and urged members to adopt the report.
The house later adopted the report while the Speaker, Alhaji Shehu Tahir, said it had been scheduled for third reading on Sept. 25.(NAN) [eap_ad_3]
