Reps deny 56% budget implementation, claims only 34% so far

At a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, the Spokesman of the House of Representatives Zakari Mohammed stated that only implemented 34 percent of the budget has been implemented.
The Federal Executive Council on Wednesday via the Minister of Finance confirmed that the implementation of the 2012 budget has reached 56% from 39% as at the end of May. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala further revealed that the 56% represents N324 billion of the N404 billion so far released.
Reacting to the planned impeachment threats by the lower legislative chamber to President Jonathan if the budget implementation is not at 100% before September, the former World Bank Manager stated that “there is nowhere in the world where budget is implemented 100% by September” insisting that from her experience the least any country has done is 80%.
Mr Mohammed at the press conference also noted that contrary to claims by the Minister of Finance, the introduction of constituency projects by the National Assembly is not the reason for the slow pace of the implementation of the budget.
He also said the House was not going back on its resolution to commence impeachment proceedings against President Goodluck Jonathan if he failed to achieve 100 per cent implementation of the budget by September.
The minister’s claim came as part of government’s responses to the threat to commence impeachment proceedings against Jonathan.
Mohammed noted that by the finance minister’s statement, only N324bn of the N404bn released so far for capital project had been cash-backed in July.
He said, “This was the grouse of the House. We are in the seventh month, going to the eighth month of the year; out of N1.5tn, you have cash-backed only N324bn. That is not good enough; that is the point that is being made. The budget performance is not encouraging.”
“It is not true that the Executive arm has implemented as at today 56 per cent of the 2012 budget as widely reported.
“In truth, about 34 per cent of the budget has been implemented. What the minister admitted to, as can be confirmed from her own words, is that, at best government has implemented 56 per cent of the N404bn released to MDAs.