President Muhammadu Buhari
has ordered all cabinet members and heads of government agencies not to embark
on any foreign trip till the defence of the 2020 budget at the national
assembly is over.
Willie Bassey, director
information in the office of secretary to the government of the federation,
disclosed this in a statement on Friday.
He said the suspension of
such travels will enable the ministers and heads of agencies provide the
information the legislature needs to pass the budget.
“Sequel to the presentation
of the 2020 Appropriation Bill by Mr President to the National Assembly,
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the immediate suspension of
international travels by all Cabinet Members and Heads of Government Agencies
so as to enable Honourable Ministers personally lead the process of Budget
defence at the National Assembly,” the statement read.
“The suspension of such
travels will enable Functionaries and Agencies of the Executive Arm to provide
the required cooperation with the Legislature in order to ensure timely passage
of the Appropriation Bill.
All foreign trips approved
before the directive were cancelled while the ministers affected were asked to
revalidate their approvals.
“Honourable Ministers who
have already secured approval to travel are by this directive, required to
revalidate such approvals with Mr. President after confirming the Schedule of
Appearances with the relevant Committees of the National Assembly,” the
statement read.
“Furthermore, all
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have been directed to liaise with
the relevant committees of the National Assembly for their Schedules of Budget
defence.”
Buhari had presented a
N10.33 trillion budget to the lawmakers, the first spending plan of his second
term.
He had expressed the wish
that the budget would be passed on time to enable its implementation between
January and December.
The National Assembly had
listed delay of budget defence as one of the reasons of not passing budgets as
and when due.
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