After twenty years of non- implementation of the extant laws empowering the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) from drawing 1% allocation from the federation account, the Senate Tuesday ordered compliance.
The upper legislative chamber specifically directed the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Ahmed Idris, to effect commencement of the remittance into NASENI’s coffers from September this year.
The fortune fell on NASENI when its executive vice chairman, Professor Mohammed Sani Haruna, made submissions on revenue projections of the agency for the 2021 budget before the Senate’s joint Committee on Finance and National Planning .
Professor Haruna in his submissions lamented that the agency had never received 1% remittance from the federation account as provided for by the 2004 National Assembly Acts.
The act, according to him, stipulates that NASENI shall draw from the federation account, 1% revenue accruing to the Federal Treasury beginning from year 2,000, but the agency had never received a kobo from the federation account as stipulated by the law.
Moved by the submission, the joint committee led by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (APC Lagos West), ordered the AGF to from September this year , commence the disbursement of 1% allocation from the federation account into the covers of NASENI.
“The act setting up NASENI was the act of the National Assembly and the AGF would not be allowed to flout the law .
“Therefore , since the AGF is here , please ensure that the executive starts implementation of the law from September this year because NASENI has potentials to develop and industrialise the Nigerian economy through the core mandate given to it by the extant laws,” he said .
