page 22 NEWS replace

page 22 NEWS replace

Experts seek Nigerians understanding on 2016 zero budgeting

By Abbas Jimoh

Nigerians have been urged to seek understanding of the zero-based budgeting (ZBB) concept of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration which will be used for the 2016 budget.

This was the position of experts and stakeholders who spoke yesterday in Abuja at a two-day ZBB training for civil society organisations organised by the ActionAid Nigeria (AAN) and the Federal Public Administration Reform Programme Nigeria (FEPAR).

Lead partner of the Centre for Social Justice, Barrister Eze Onyekpere said the ZBB is more used during periods that require cutbacks when the revenue has more or less declined and there is no feasible plan of increasing spending through taxation or borrowing, hence the need for greater efficiency of spending, adding that Nigeria is in that situation now.

A public finance expert, Austin Ndiokwelu said the policy would help Nigeria in maximising its capital projects execution.

The Governance Advisor of AAN, Abraham Daniel, explained that the federal government plans to adopt the ZBB in 2016 to promote fiscal discipline, reduce wastages, eliminate mismanagement and corruption, and strengthen transparency and accountability in public finance management to serve the interests of the citizens.

The Justice and Democratic Governance Programme Manager, Obo Effanga said the training was among others to enhance the skills of budget actors to engage with and provide the required technical support to ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) in implementing the ZBB to serve the interest of citizens.