- Budget to be prepared through digital process
CEM REPORT, FINANCE | The Budget Office of the Federation has revealed that the 2024 budget will be ready and presented to the National Assembly by October 2023.
The office also noted that it had begun the process of digitising the budgetary preparing processes to minimise the bottlenecks, as well as enhancing efficiency, transparency and accountability.
This was revealed by the Director-General, of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, at the commencement of the training of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) on the 2024 budget preparation using the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System Budget Preparation Sub-System (GIFMIS/BPS).
According to the DG, the achievement of meeting the deadline for the 2024 budget submission for the National Assembly to have ample time to deliberate and pass the budget is dependent on the collaboration and synergy between the various MDAs.
“We hope to submit the 2024 budget before the end of October 2023, and we are working to make sure it happens, even though it is a new administration. We are working to meet the deadline for the budget submission so that the National Assembly can do their own and the budget is passed within the year for the implementation to start by January 2024.”
He added that the adoption of the GIFMIS budget preparation subsystem is in a move to facilitate the nation’s budgetary processes in MDAs while minimising the bottlenecks, as well as enhancing efficiency, transparency and accountability.
Akabueze, who was represented by the Director of Revenue and Fiscal Policy, Hapsatu Mormoni, said as the budget office moves to harmonise the sectoral policies with the overarching National Development Plan 2021- 2025 and the specific programmes of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, training is required to enhance MDAs collective capacity to effectively use the budget preparation sub-system of the GIFMIS in the budget preparation process.
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Akabueze urged MDAs to thoroughly examine the Budget Call Circular to avoid making mistakes that could have been avoided if they had followed the appropriate sections of the circular.
To that aim, he stated that this year’s module would focus on essential elements and sections to look for in the 2024 Federal Government Budget Call Circular.
“Let us harness the power of information technology to build a more transparent, accountable, and effective government machinery.”
