By Kolawole Ojebisi
MINISTER of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun has asked that the Joint Committee on Appropriations of both Chambers of the National Assembly should accord him a closed-door session for a detailed response to questions on 2025 budget
This is following observations by the lawmakers, on Wednesday, raised on the huge discrepancies in the size of the Recurrent Expenditure relative to Capital Expenditure
The minister was asked to speak to issues that have agitated the minds of lawmakers: capital expenditure performance and the utilisation of funds saved from the removal of the fuel subsidy.
At the budget defence, top shots in the executive arm of government, like the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Edun, the Director General of National Orientation Agency ( NOA) Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu and his counterpart in the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN), Ali Mohammed Ali , were separately put under fire in the Senate.
While the Minister of Finance, Edun and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu were put on hot seats by the Senator Olamilekan Adeola, APC, Ogun West led Committee on Appropriation, the DG of NOA and that of NAN were engaged in very tough encounters with the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation.
Edun made the plea when former Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi, PDP, Bauchi Central fired at the Minister, asking him to explain how proceeds from fuel subsidy removal were expended in the 2024 fiscal year.
Ningi asked, “What is the budget performance achieved so far, for the 2024 fiscal year, particularly in terms of capital expenditure?
“We haven’t heard from the Minister how much has been saved from the removal of fuel subsidy and how much has been expended.
“We also haven’t heard from the Ministers about the debt servicing. How much have we actually used to service our debt in 2004?
” How much are we expecting to service the debt in 2005? Finally, will the Minister of Finance guarantee that the extension of the capital component of the 2024 budget to June 30, 202,5 will give the desired results in terms of implementation that has a very low percentage now? “
“Are we in a closed-door session? If we are not in a closed-door session, I will humbly seek for that for detailed explanations on the questions asked.” Edun responded.
Honouring Edun, the Committee Chairman, Senator Olamilekan Adeola accordingly asked Journalists to excuse them for the closed-door session.
Earlier at the budget defence session, the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation had with agencies under its mandate, the Director General of the National Orientation Agency ( NOA) , Mallam Issa – Onilu and his counterpart in the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) Ali Mohammed Ali, were ordered to re – draft and re – present their budgetary proposals for 2025 fiscal year.
The Committee chaired by Senator kenneth Eze ( APC Ebonyi Central), tackled the NOA DG on the National Identity Project being implemented by the Agency by saying the project is not known to Nigerians , particularly, those residing at the grassroots.
But the NOA DG who told the committee members that the project is very necessary in putting in place , the right value system, said, “The challenge we have about value system is about National Identity which is very necessary at galvanising Nigerians for Nation building, national development and growth.”
The Committee however insisted that he should go back to re – draft the programmes of the agency to be captured and appropriated for in the 2025 fiscal year.
The Director General of the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) was also asked to go and reconcile disnointed figures presented in the 2024 budget implementation before coming for appropriation of projected figures for 2025 fiscal years.
