ABUJA—The House of Representatives Committee on Finance yesterday announced that the executive had spent over N3 trillion in the last five years without the approval of the National Assembly.
Beside the extra-budgetary expenditure by the Presidency, the House Committee is also worried that there is a fresh accumulation by the Federal Government of local and foreign debts to the tune of over $20billion.
This fresh debt pile up is happening barely four years after the country paid over $32 billion of debts accumulated for a period of over two decades to exit the Paris Club of creditors.
At an interactive session with newsmen yesterday, the members of the Committee, led by Rep. John Enoh(PDP/ Obubra/Cross River), said the Committee will look into the declining rate of the foreign reserves, financing of National Assembly budget, rise in the internal and external debt of the country and poor implementation of the 2010 budget by the Ministry of Finance.
“Our committee, in the course of our numerous and painstaking oversight, has discovered that over N3 trillion has been spent by government ministries and agencies without the approval of the National Assembly, as stipulated by the 1999 Constitution.
“We have found out that more than 80 percent of these agencies remit nothing or far less than what they generate to government coffers and yet they take billions of naira as budget every year,” Enoh said.
Buttressing his principal’s point, Deputy Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Leo Dilkon (PDP/Pankshin-Plateau State), said most of the agencies drop just about 1 percent of what they generate to government coffers.
Of all the monies approved by the National Assembly for ministries and agencies, Dilkon said less than 30 percent had been released for each agency by the Ministry of Finance and Bureau for Public Procurement.
Rep. Labaran Dambatta (PDP/Dambatta-Kano), in his words, decried that “universities, Colleges of Education, the National Hospital and several other agencies of government have refused to remit monies they generate for government into government coffers, and each time you want to raise alarm, they will tell you reasons outside the constitution, why they must not remit to the federation account”.
Earlier, Chairman of the Committee said the National Assembly was worried by the dip in revenue and financial frivolities threatening the Nigerian economy.
“The committee is worried about the declining rate of our foreign reserves and the accumulation of fresh local and foreign debt profile. We are also disturbed by the poor implementation of the 2010 budget.
“These worries are coming even after we (the National Assembly) have taken serious pains to amend the due process (Public Procurement) law to simplify its implementation.
“For every amendment we have done on the due process law, we have done it with the aim of simplifying its implementation but yet, we continue to experience this failure in our budget,” Enoh said.
The committee chairman said lawmakers would in a few weeks be engaging with Customs, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, “where the committee will be interested in finding out how the executive’s response had been to the decline in foreign reserves, debt pile up and how to fully implement the budget.
Posted: at 15-10-2010 01:47 PM (14 years ago) | Gistmaniac
papyefisy at 15-10-2010 05:00 PM (14 years ago) (m)
Which way are we heading to Nigerians
Posted: at 15-10-2010 05:00 PM (14 years ago) | Upcoming
I am telling you that this country has bin mess up...cant you see that such amunt of money was spent overy 5years ....it is now that day are finding out and who is responsible .....no body.......do you no that this gov is confuse.....but why dose it mean that all this our leaders from... president to house ...,senators... and governors....are all educated illiterate....only that oil they know.....why why why 9ja.....just the best thing is to call the white pple to rule for 10yrs again i believe that our chldren can hve hope in future....but with this way this country is going on i dont think we hve a leader because all of them love money and to better them self & family alone...they travel out overseas yet they dont learn how to rule .....when you dont give your pple love how can they love your govment....in a country 1.5m pple only 100 is feeding well ..how can they be happy.....in a country of 1.5m graduate only 100 is working..how can they love the gov ment....in a country that dont manage any thing on it own only to privatiza to pple..witout knowing that when you privatiza things ..... pple will get it higher don when gov handle it by itself .....sorry sorry sorry 9ja many many more yaers ahead we need if
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Posted: at 16-10-2010 11:06 AM (14 years ago) | Newbie
Lets be real!!! How can members of the house of Rep spend $3trn (Three trillion USD) in five years when our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is not even close to $1trn. Please get your facts straight before posting. Three Trillion USD is equivalent to NGR 450 Trillion(Naira)
Posted: at 16-10-2010 01:00 PM (14 years ago) | Newbie
Blinkaustine at 16-10-2010 11:27 PM (14 years ago) (m)
Where d useless house of assembly de wen them de take all dis moni. Na now de 1 come talk so make we fit say them innocent. All of una na thief thief ajibole ole buruku
Posted: at 16-10-2010 11:27 PM (14 years ago) | Newbie
Which way are we heading to 
;)
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