FG RUNNING SHORT OF CASH, OKONJO-IWEALA INSIST.............. The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, yesterday insisted that the Federal Government is experiencing shortfalls in funds required to implement the 2013 budget. Okonjo-Iweala also stated that an amendment to the 2013 Appropriation Act is necessary even as she disclosed that the capital component of the budget has been implemented by 67 per cent. This means that about N670bn has already been spent. The minister spoke before the House of Representatives’ Committees on Appropriation, Finance and Legislative Compliance where she debunked allegations that the Executive had jettisoned the budget as passed and signed by President Goodluck Jonathan in the first quarter of this year. She also sought the legislators’ approval to divert the fund accrued to the illegal Excess Crude Account, ECA, which is deemed illegal, to a Stabilisation Fund embedded in the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF. Okonjo-Iweala, who fielded a barrage of questions on the economy in general and the 2013 budget in particular, insisted that the executive was seeking an amendment and not a supplementary budget.
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 17:54:39 +0000
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