The Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, Rep. Mohammed Tahir Monguno, has urged the Executive arm to increase budgetary allocation to the Northeastern part of the country due to deplorable state of infrastructure in the region.
Monguno said the increase in budgetary allocation became necessary in view of the damage done to infrastructure such as roads in the North East by the Boko Haram insurgents for over a decade.
The lawmaker, who represents Marte/Monguno/Nganzai Federal Constituency of Borno State, said steps should be taken to address some of the infrastructural challenges of the North East through annual budgets.
Contributing to the debate on the 2021 budget estimates on the floor of the House on Wednesday, Monguno noted that the North East region had suffered poor budgetary allocations even before the advent of the current administration.
Monguno also called on the government to focus more attention on the agricultural sector, which he said accounts for about 70 percent of employment, not just in Nigeria, but also in the entire African continent.
“Agriculture in Nigeria and Africa in general accounts for about 70 percent of employment. So, there’s need for an improvement in the agricultural sector in view of the fact that it accounts for 70 percent of employment.”
“Over the years, there’s no region that has been getting low allocation like the North East. I call on the government to improve the allocation to the North East. Our roads and other infrastructure are in deplorable state due to Boko Haram,” Monguno said.
While commending President Muhammadu Buhari for the timely presentation of the 2021 budget proposal, Monguno also lauded the Executive arm for implementation of nearly 50 percent of the 2020 Budget.
“Over the years, around this time, the percentage used to be between 10 and 30 percent. But this time around, the level of implementation of the current budget is around 50 percent. So, the Executive deserves kudos.”
The Chief Whip equally called on the House to strengthen its oversight of the Executive arm “so that Nigerians will continue to enjoy the dividends of democracy.”
