Bimbola Oyesola
The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), has again has decried the recurring delay in the passage of national budget, which it said appears to have become a culture.
The Director General of NECA, Mr. Timothy Olawale, described as disheartening, the continuous delay in the passage of national budget, noting that the continuous delay in budget passage year on year is worrisome and continues to be a major source of concern for the private sector.
He said, “the importance of quick passage of the budget cannot be overemphasised as it plays a very critical role in economic development. Looking at the trend from 2014, the earliest time the budget was passed was in 2016 and that was in the month of March. Nigeria’s fiscal year begins in January and ends in December; hence, we cannot begin to imagine the dire consequences of the late passage of the budget on national development and business growth.
Comparing what applied in other countries within the continent, the NECA DG said, “in Ghana for instance, the budget for the 2019 fiscal year was approved in November 2018.