From Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Policy Alert, a civil society organisation, on Tuesday, called on the Delta State House of Assembly to investigate an extra-budgetary expenditure of over N126 billion within the first three quarters of 2023.
Policy Alert, a CSO working to promote fiscal and ecological justice in the Niger Delta, said the extra expenditure was in breach of the Fiscal Responsibility Law of Delta State, and urged the lawmakers
to take necessary action to hold the executive accountable.
In a statement by its Programme Officer, Fiscal Reforms and Anti-Corruption, Faith Paulinus, the organisation said between January and September 2023, Government House and Protocol and 25 other Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs), engaged in the extra-budgetary expenditure.
The red flags, according to the statement were spotted during a review of the Delta State Third Quarter Budget Performance Report 2023, adding that some of the spending had exceeded 200 percent of what was budgeted.
It read: “Government House and Protocol had a budget of N22.38 billion but between January and September 2023 and with a full quarter left to the end of the fiscal year, the office had already spent N46.67 billion which is 208.6 percent of what was budgeted.”
Policy Alert listed the MDAs caught in the web of extra-budgetary spending to include Delta State Liaison Office Abuja; Delta State Liaison Office Lagos; Ministry of Finance; Office of the Accountant General; Delta State Council for Arts and Culture; Delta State Water Regulatory Commission; Ministry of Urban Renewal; Judicial Service Commission; and Ministry of Justice.
Others, according to the statement, include Ministry of Secondary Education; Delta State University of Science and Technology, Ozoro; Delta State Polytechnic, Oghara; University of Delta, Agbor; State Library Board; Ministry of Health, Traditional Medicine Board; School of Nursing Warri; Delta State Primary Health Care Development Agency; State School of Health Technology, Ughelli; Contributory Health Commission; Delta State Environmental Protection Agency; Secretariat of Traditional Council; Delta State Broadcasting Service; Special Projects (Political Appointees); and Tractor Hire Agency.
The organisation also called attention to the unwholesome trend of supplementary budgeting in the state, saying that the House of Assembly recently approved a second 2023 supplementary budget of N167 billion in addition to an earlier N71 billion 2023 supplementary budget signed into law in the last days of the immediate past administration.
“This indicates poor fiscal discipline and could turn the state’s budget into a mere ritual rather than a tool for planning and accountability,” it stated.
The organisation however applauded the Government of Delta State for prioritising capital expenditure over recurrent spending in the last three quarters.
It stated: “We have observed Delta State as the only state that has prioritised capital expenditure over recurrent among states that have published their Third Quarter Budget Performance Report.
“The report shows that within the three quarters, recurrent expenditure had N261.33 billion while capital had N274.45 billion.
“In the third quarter alone, recurrent expenditure had N54.69 billion in releases while capital spending had N79.35 billion. This is commendable.”