TAIYE ODEWALE reports that the yearly ritual of budget defence by heads of Ministeries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) before standing committees of National Assembly (NASS) commenced last week with attendant exposure of poor policy implementations
Budget defence sessions
As part of legislative procedure of considering yearly budget proposals and projections, presented to it by the executive for approval; both chambers of the National Assembly after passing such proposal for second reading, push it to their various standing committees for thorough scrutiny at that level through required interface with heads of the various MDAs.
In carrying out the exercise, plenary are usually suspended for thoroughness of the defence sessions which on yearly basis, results into brickbats between federal lawmakers and some heads of MDAs.
More often than not, the sessions expose poor implementation of policies by government with attendant wastages and facilitation of malignant corruption within the system.
Expectedly, the outcome of such interface determines the approval or otherwise of budget allocations proposed for each of the agencies by the federal government.
As planned by the Senate on the strength of resolution taken on Wednesday, 13th October, 2022, interface of its various standing committees with heads of MDAs started last week Monday, 18th October, 2021 with committees on Science and Technology and the one on Industry blazing the trail.
Encounter between Committee on Science and Technology and NBRRI
The Nigeria Building and Road Research Institute (NBRRI) was the first to face baptism of fire at such interface when its Director General/ Chief Executive Officer, Prof. Samson Duna appeared before the Senator Uche Ekwunife-led committee.
At the interface, while as usual the NBRRI boss gave a run down of implementation of 2021 budgetary allocation of the agency and 2022 projections, he ran into trouble waters on the area of revenue generation in the year, which was considered very poor by members of the committee when compared to the scope of operations of NBRRI and allocations received for the year .
Pointedly, the Uche Ekwunife-led committee slammed the agency for generating only 18million in the 2021 fiscal year which is less than 10% of N49 billion budgetary allocation.
This as declared by members of the committee, was unacceptable for an agency mandated by law to provide consultancy for all construction projects across the country to generate less than ten percent of its yearly allocation.
“Your revenue generation is very poor going by your scope of operations and budgetary allocation for required performance”, Ekwunife said.
However in his response, the Director General/Chief Executive Officer of NBRI, Prof. Samson Duna said the agency received only 75% out of its estimate of N49 billion in 2021 and that the N18 million generated was from Journals and Tender documents.
But the committee members countered by declaring that the agency can do more than that as far as revenue generation is concerned and that it should focus on its core mandates of road research to ensure cheap ways of road construction to achieve good and lasting roads across the country.
BOI’s dose of the scrutinies
On the same day, the Bank of Industry ( BOI ) at budget Defence interface with the Senate Committee on Industry, had it tough for not knowing exact identities of beneficiaries of its loans.
The Managing Director of the Bank , Olukayode Pitan, had in his submissions before the committee, claimed that they don’t know beneficiaries of loans given out by the bank but destination of the loans.
“Loans are given to commercial banks that provide guarantees, which then forwarded the money to the beneficiaries”, he said.
Angered by his submission, the trio of Senators Adamu Bulkachuwa (APC Bauchi North), Christopher Ekpenyong (PDP Akwa Ibom North West) and Danjuma La’ah ( PDP Kaduna South), said they were in the dark about the activities of Bank of Industry in their senatorial districts.
Senator Danjuma in particular said: “I don’t know what is going on with Bank of Industry activities in my senatorial district”.
Also, Senator Ekpenyong in reaction lamented that most of his senatorial district members were unable to access loans from Bank of Industry, adding that the Union Bank and United Bank of Africa (UBA) do not give bank gurantee to his people.
In addition, Senator Bulkachuwa said, “The MD/CEO, you made comments while trying to answer my questions on the distributions of loan beneficiaries. You actually said that you were not in the position to know exactly where these loans are going to, with regards to the geopolitical areas of the country.
“Does it mean that the Bank of Industry does not know where the loans are going to and where the actual beneficiaries are located in the country? If you don’t know, we are interested in knowing where those loans go to.
“You, the giver of the loan should be more interested in the loan and where each kobo you give out is going and which part of the country is benefiting. You should be able to know. You should not leave it for the commercial banks to handle alone.
“Our interest is to know how the bank of industry is performing its duty in terms of ensuring that industries are spread across the country”.
Mr. Pitan however responded by saying, “The Senators misunderstood him, saying, “BOI knows where our money is”.
“We know where every kobo goes to but not the beneficiaries because we are not the one determining the beneficiaries.
“The commercial banks are the ones that give guarantees because they are the ones that would finalise the process.
“They determine where the loans go but there is no loan that goes out of the Bank of Industry that we on our own, don’t analyse. It is a requirement every month for the Bank of Industry to provide the document. We know exactly where our monies are.”
Not satisfied with his explanation, the Committee Chairman, Senator Tokunbo Abiru (APC Lagos East), said the process is unacceptable and will be reviewed through required law.
NSIWC chided for inability to provide information on total salary and wages payments.
It was the turn of National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) Thursday last week, to receive its bashing on poor implementation of government policy.
NSIWC ran into trouble waters when its Chairman, Mr Ekpo Nta failed to give exact figure of amount of monies being expended by the federal government on salaries and wages of its workers on yearly basis to the committee on Establishment chaired by Senator Ibrahim Shekarau (APC Kano Central).
Question to that effect was thrown at the NSIWC Chairman against the backdrop of embargo placed on employment by the federal government and yet yearly increases in recurrent expenditure component of budget.
Specifically, a member of the committee, Senator Ali Ndume (APC Borno South), threatened to leave the country if relevant authorities refuse to put things in order by diffusing the ticking time bomb caused by the embargo placed on employment.
He said: “Honestly speaking, time bomb is ticking out there with this policy because of the doors shut out against millions of youths seeking employment through the embargo.
“Making it worrisome is the fact that despite the policy, since 2018 till now, recurrent expenditure components of yearly budget have been increasing.
“In 2018, it was N3.5trillion, N4 trillion in 2019, N4.5 trillion in 2020, N5.6 trillion 2021 and N6.83 trillion in the projected N16.39 trillion 2022 budget.
“It is bad for recurrent expenditure to be increasing on yearly basis without increase in the number of workforce through required recruitments .
“The embargo is turning to a time bomb that can explode at anytime as witnessed in some countries in recent past.
“Personally, I’m already thinking of where to run to if the avoidable crisis is not averted. I visited Ghana and Niger recently in this regard”.
Other members of the committee like Suleiman Kwari (APC Kaduna North), Nicholas Tofowomo (PDP Ondo Central) and the Chairman of the committee, Ibrahim Shekarau (APC Kano North), aligned themselves with Ndume’s admonition.
Pointedly, the Chairman of the Committee, directed the Salaries and Wages Commission Chairman to liaise with the Accountant General of the federation and other management officials of IPPIS, for required harmonisation in arriving at total amount of salaries/wages federal government pays per annum.
The interface and attendant brickbats between federal lawmakers and heads of MDAs, continue this week.
