'Envelop budgeting was adopted not 'Zero based' budgeting,' Auditor General tells senate

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He said that the ‘Zero based’ budgeting method was initially what was meant to be used by the budget office, but they ended up using the envelope based method.

Ukura also told Senator Andy Uba that some of the problems the budget office had was because the Zero based budget was ‘hurriedly introduced’ by the budget office.

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This new development was initiated after by Akpan Bassey (PDP, Akwa-Ibom North East) asked if his office was using zero-based or envelope budgeting.

“It is envelope. They (Budget Office) wanted to introduce zero-based budgeting. But in the end, zero-based budgeting wasn’t used. They were just asking people to bring evidence…. In zero-based budgeting, it is assumed that such expenditure does not exist, you start from zero and justify why that expenditure must be used, and at the end of it, the result you are going to get out of it.

“So, it is a system which is good and which also helps to set targets. But that wasn’t what was done. This was hurriedly introduced and that is why it is creating problem all over the place,” Ukura responded.

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Citing an example, he said the N2.9billion budget estimate of his office in this year’s proposal, was handed over to them as an envelope by the Budget Office.

Over the past few months, the senate has been back and forth with the budget.