Signs that the epileptic power supply in Nigeria will worsen in months to come, emerged yesterday with a whopping N25.5billion severed from the N714.668billion voted for the sector in the 2018 budget, as parts of monies vired for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.
The education sector also suffered similar fate as N10.238billion was vired from N651.226billion appropriated for the supervising ministry in the 2018 fiscal year, to make up for the N242.2billion now budgeted for the conduct of the 2019 general elections.
Aside the two ministries, 28 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies, also had parts of their 2018 budgetary allocations vired, in addition to the N121.2billlion pulled off the service wide votes also for the elections budget.
The resolutions were sequel to recommendations made to that effect by the Senate Committee on Appropriation.
The Committee, in the report presented by its Chairman, Senator Danjuma Goje (APC Gombe Central), explained that the earlier virement of N242billion for the elections budget entirely from service wide votes (Special Intervention Programme) should be rescinded and approve new sources recommended.
The recommended new sources as presented and approved by the Senate are N121.2billion to be vired from service wide votes (Special Intervention Programme) and the remaining balance of N121bn to be vired from 2018 budgetary votes of affected 30 MDAs.
Some of the MDAs affected are Federal Ministry of Water Resources which has N12.954billion vired from its N155.149billion 2018 budget, Federal Ministry of Agriculture where N11billion was vired from its N203billion 2018 budget.
Others are; Ministry of Budget and National Planning N8.845billion, Ministry of Defence N2.636billion, Foreign Affairs N1.737billion and Federal Ministry of Health N8.059billion.
Also affected are Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation N6.734billion, Office of the National Security Adviser N1.120billion, Ministry of Labour and Employment N2.727billion, Information and Culture N1.884billion, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs N1.199billion, Science and Technology N7.466billon , Industry, Trade and Investment N7.085billion among others.
However, in the report which was silent on the N578billion Constituency Projects, the committee retained the spread of the N242billion virement votes for conduct of the general elections across the six affected agencies as earlier approved by both chambers of the National Assembly, with N189billion for the Independent National Electoral Commission, N27.3billion for the Nigeria Police Force and N9.481billion for the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Others are N10.213billion for the Department of State Services (DSS), N3.573billion for the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and N2.628billion for the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), all totalling N242.245, 050, 100.
