•as CISLAC calls for removal of proposed N15bn for construction of vice president office
•tasks NASS on thorough scrutiny of inflated MDAs’ subheads
The House of Representatives Committee on Finance chaired by Hon. Abiodun James Faleke will on Monday flag off the 2024 budget defence of key regulatory ministries and agencies responsible for revenue generation in the country.
Those expected to appear before the committee on Monday are: Minister of Budget and National Planning, Alhaji Abubakar Bagudu; Accountant General of Federation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein and Chairman, Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Commission (RMFAC), Mohammed Bello Shehu.
Others scheduled to appear on Tuesday, are Minister of Finance, Yemi Cardoso; heads of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority.
Meanwhile, the Executive Director Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani has underscored the need for the National Assembly to ensure adequate allocation of funds into critical sectors of the economy as well as infrastructural projects that could revamp the economy and alleviate the sufferings of millions of Nigerians across the country.
He said: “For democracy to truly thrive in a country there are certain indices that must be considered such as good governance which has to do with the provision of goods and services such as health care, education, agricultural investment, shelter, good roads and other critical infrastructure that will have a meaningful impact on the lives of the citizens.
“The 2024 budget should be a reflection of these basic human needs, especially considering the times we are in when Nigerians are greatly suffering from the effect of the fuel subsidy removal. I think now more than ever, the government should focus more on investing in areas that will revamp the economy in a way that relieves the Nigerian citizens of their suffering.
“I think it is high time we begin to reassess the questions we ask around the freedom of the lawmakers to make decisions independently without the interference of the executive. The President’s pronouncement made it clear that some of the issues should be looked into more broadly in line with the needs and aspirations of the citizens.
“But without thorough scrutiny by the lawmakers it would be hard to understand which projects require more attention.
“Of course sometimes MDAs bring to the fore inflated budgets, just so that they have their ways, that is why it is important to thoroughly go through the budget lines presented by them in order to ascertain the worth of the projects involved.
“For instance in the 2023 budget, federal lawmakers have raised concerns about the abuse of the budget process following submissions by some government agencies that some amounts were inserted into their estimates without their knowledge allegedly by the Ministry of Finance.
“While it is not binding for the government to impose templates for the MDAs as if they don’t have a say in what they deem fit for them to carry out their mandates. It is equally important to carefully study and scrutinize the submissions of the MDAs for proper adjustments and other necessary corrections.”
He maintained that: “projects that will enhance and improve the lives of Nigerians are of utmost significance.
Good governance entails delivering goods and services that will have a long term impact on the lives of the citizens in terms of the provision of fundamental and basic human needs of food, shelter, affordable health care services, quality education,good infrastructure.
“I believe that investment in critical projects that are of interest to the Nigerian citizens must be the priority. For far too long the Nigerian citizens have been greatly alienated of benefiting from the abundance of the countries resources due to the effect of bad representation where the people in charge always prioritize their own interests against the interests of the very people who voted them into office.
“It is a good thing that the President categorically cautioned the lawmakers to prioritize projects that will be of the maximum benefit to the citizens, but the question remains that whether the President and the lawmakers are not just making a show just to appear people oriented leaders because we have seen how some of the projects approved in the budget significantly deviate from people centred interested especially looking at the current economic situation that many Nigerians are facing.
“For example the 15 billion Naira that was approved for the construction of the Vice Presidents residence. This I believe is a total disregard for the interests of the citizens at this very critical moment, it is also very insensitive for this kind of monies to be approved at a time when we have a great infrastructural deficit in the country, we have so many areas of development that requires attention, areas in which great dividends will come out if we can invest in them.
“For instance, we have serious health care system challenges, everytime we have our universities and tertiary institutions of learning going for strikes, we have bad roads, we don’t have enough and good rail roads, our air transport systems are in jeopardy, unemployment and rampant insecurity in terms of kidnappings, banditry and robbery, all these are sectors that the government should give priority as opposed to investing in unnecessary projects that will not have any direct impact on the citizens.
“We also have non-functioning refineries that require attention by the government, we have our Steel companies that should be a priority and that will bring greater dividends for the country in terms of investment opportunities for domestic and international companies, direct employment opportunities for our teeming unemployed youths and revenue generation platform for the government.
“These I think should be the projects that the NASS should prioritise not only in the 2024 budget but also in subsequent budgets,” Rafisanjani urged.
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