The House of Representatives has uncovered errors and “irreconcilable discrepancies” in the figures allocated to Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs) in the 2019 budget.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara, yesterday confirmed the existence of the discrepancies to journalists on the floor of the House shortly before the lawmakers began debates on the N8.83 2019 Appropriation Bill.

Dogara’s notification followed a point of order by Chika Adamu (APC, Niger), who had drawn the attention of the lawmakers to certain errors in the Appropriation Bill after House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila (APC, Lagos), had moved for its second reading.

The Speaker, however, noted that although there were noticeable discrepancies in the MDAs figures, the debates had to proceed on the general principles of the budget, in accordance with the provisions of the House Rules and Standing Orders.

He mandated the relevant House Committees to interface with the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, and that of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, to fine tune the document ahead of further legislative action.

“Even though it is apparent that there are many irreconcilable discrepancies in the figures allotted MDAs, we have to go ahead with debates on the general principles of the budget.

•Sourced from a Daily Trust report

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