2020 budget: Senate approves extension of capital component till March

The senate has approved an extension for the capital component of the 2020 appropriation act till March 31, 2021.

The amendment to the act was approved after Abdullahi Yahaya, senate leader, moved a motion and a bill was considered in the committee of the whole.

While moving the motion, Yahaya said the extension sought by the executive is as a result of COVID-19 lockdown.

The country was in total lockdown earlier in the year as part of efforts to curb the spread of the disease.

The senate leader said most ministries, departments and agencies have not spent their allocations for 2020 because most public officers were shut.

“Section 12 is hereby amended by adding a proviso to with: ‘Provided that the implementation of the capital expenditure in the appropriation act 2021 shall lapse on the 31st March, 2021’,” he said.

“This is to ensure that expenditures done in 2020 is sustained in the act.”

With the return of the budget cycle to January-December, the appropriation act will expire on December 31, 2020.

Zainab Ahmed, finance minister, had asked the national assembly for an extension of the capital aspect of the budget because of ongoing projects across the country.

The minister explained that the extension of the expiration date of the capital component of the budget will enable the federal government to continue implementing its programmes beyond the expiry date.