2022 Budget Suffers Setback as INEC Fails to Submit Estimate for 2023 Polls

•May be passed next Tuesday

•NPC proposes N400bn for census

Deji Elumoye and Juliet Akoje
in Abuja

Move by the two Chambers of the National Assembly to pass the N16.39 trillion 2022 budget proposal this week was thwarted yesterday as the financial requirements from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2023 general polls wasn’t presented and captured.

This was just as the National Population Commission (NPC) declared that the National Census slated for next year would cost N400 billion.

Last minute efforts made by the Senate Appropriation Committee to get the required financial details from INEC on the 2023 general elections at a special session failed as Chairman of the electoral umpire, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, failed to show up at the session.

The Commissioner who stood in for INEC Chairman, Alhaji Zuru Abdulrahman Abdul, informed the committee that the details being sought for could not be given by him but by only the INEC Chairman.

He said: “Mr. Chairman and members of this distinguished committee, we have listened to you and appreciate the concern on funding the 2023 general elections as regards the need to capture some of the projected expenses in the 2022 budget.

“But such financial details can only be given by our Chairman who is presently abroad and billed to return on Sunday or Monday morning. So in the light of this, financial details requested for shall be made available on Monday next week”.

Thereafter, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Jibrin Barau, ruled for adjournment of the session to next Monday.

Speaking with newsmen after the brief session,

Senator Barau said the latest development would not make passage of the 2022 budget this week possible.

According to him, “2023 general elections and projected national head counts slated for next year are very important the reason why we want to make provisions for them in the 2022 budget.

“As a result of the importance of the two, passage of 2022 budget will no longer be possible this week as earlier planned and clearly stated on our time table.”

In the time table released in October, report on the budget was supposed to have been laid by the Appropriation Committee on Tuesday, December 14, 2021 and passage fixed for Wednesday or Thursday this week.

Flowing from Senator Barau’s disclosure to journalists, the Senate at the end of its session yesterday, adjourned to Tuesday, December 21, 2021 for another session possibly for the budget to be laid, considered and passed that day.

Meanwhile, the NPC Chairman, Alhaji Nasir Isa Kwarra, told the Committee that the total estimated cost for the National Census slated for next year was N400 billion .

The Committee thereafter resolved that the submission gotten from NPC will be added to the expected one from INEC next Monday as part of Appropriation Bill report to be laid before the Senate for consideration and passage next week.