The Federal Government on Wednesday approved the release of N739 billions to Ministries, Departments and Agencies for implementation of capital projects captured in the 2017 budget. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun in a released memorandum to the Federal Treasury Department, dated December 20, 2017, directed the immediate release of the sum to the MDAs, thereby bringing the total capital vote releases for the fiscal year to N1.189 trillion.
The latest release may not be unconnected with complaints by the National Assembly over the low implementation of the 2017 budget.
The Senate had described the release of N450 billion out of the N2.17 trillion allocated for capital expenditure in the budget as the worst in the nation's history. The situation is believed to be adversely affecting plans by the current administration to return the budget cycle to January-December.
The Senators had expressed their dismay when Adeosun appeared before it to defend the Ministry's budget.
Meanwhile, the Minister has expressed optimism that with the latest release, most MDAs will achieve over 50 per cent implementation of the budget, while others would be around 40 percent.
