Senate President David Mark on Thursday charged the various committees to ensure strict implementation of the 2013 Appropriation Act Amendment Bill.
Mark said this after the Senate considered and passed the bill restoring all reductions it made to some capital projects to their original figures.
“This is only the first stage of our requirement in the budgetary system of this country. The next stage is through our oversight functions.
“We must ensure that this budget is implemented to the letter. I urge our various committees to ensure this during their oversight functions,’’ he said.
President Goodluck Jonathan after assenting to the 2013 Appropriation Bill in February forwarded certain observations seeking for its amendments.
The Senate had on July 23 considered the request and passed the bill for second reading and forwarded it to its Committee on Appropriation for further legislative work.
The Chairman of the committee, Sen. Ahmed Maccido (PDP-Sokoto), while presenting the report, said the personnel cost had been restored.
Some of the capital projects reduced but restored, included the Abuja-Lokoja Road reduced by N4 billion, Kano-Maiduguri Road reduced by N3.5 billion.
Others were power projects, N16.3 billion, MDGs, HIV and AIDS ARV drugs, N1billion, routine immunisation vaccines, N1.75 billion.
There were also reductions from the Ministries of Transport and Education as well as the Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), whose budget was reduced from N27 billion to N9 billion.
The total sum of the amendment budget as passed is N4.9 trillion.
In another development, the Senate has confirmed the appointment of 21 nominees as members of the Federal Character Commission.
Two nominees- Alhaji Musa Talle (FCT) and Mrs Adaeze Idigo-Izunde (Anambra) – were, however, not confirmed by the Senate.
Meanwhile, the Senate has adjourned its plenary session to resume on Sept. 17.
Mark commended the senators for their work during the session, and urged them to spend time with their families during the break.
