From Basil Obasi, Abuja
In a bid to ensure that the 2017 budget is fully zero based budget (ZBB) compliant, the Federal Government has commenced the training of planning and budget officers of 800 ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) nationwide, ahead of the 2017 budget. This will ensure a more realistic budget for 2017 fiscal year, the government said.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who made this disclosure yesterday, revealed that 4, 254 officers selected across the six geopolitical zones would be trained on ZBB.
Udoma said: “As we prepare to fully implement the Federal Government ZBB, there is the need to equip planning and budget officers in our MDAs with the knowledge, skills and tools required for the ZBB using the 2017 budget preparation platform.
The minister explained that the training, which was being conducted simultaneously in seven cities across the six geopolitical zones, was to equip the officials with necessary knowledge and skills in preparation for the 2017 budget.
According to Udoma, 1, 830 people drawn from Abuja and the North Central are being trained in Abuja, Three hindered and eighty-four officers from North East are being trained in Gombe; 504 from North West in Kaduna; 408 in Lagos and 486 from South West in Ibadan. Three hundred and thirty officers from South-South are holding their training in Uyo and 318 from South East in Enugu.