The Senate on Tuesday expressed displeasure at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and 32 other parastatals and agencies of government who are yet to submit their 2017 budget proposal eight months after due date.
According to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, this infers that such agencies were operating without an approved budget and contrary to public expectations of an anti-corruption administration.
Other agencies yet to submit their budget are: The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority, Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), National Maritime Authority, Nigerian Shippers Council, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Others are: Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Radio Nigeria, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), National Communications Commission (NCC) National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) among others.
The Senate therefore threatened to stifle the agencies of funds such that they would only be able to pay salaries, if they failed to submit their budget.
Deputy Leader of the Senate, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah who drew the attention of his colleagues to the illegality said that the agencies were so far spending money that had not been appropriated by the legislature.
He said “I deliberately decided that I will bring it on the floor, so that Senators will understand the implications.
“In our commitment to assist this government to fight corruption, we must stand on our feet that every spirit of our law must be obeyed by those holding public offices.
“I think that if you permit me I will like to come tomorrow by way of motion, so it can be debated on the Floor of the Senate.”
“The only approach this Senate can take to assist this government in fighting corruption, is to insist that gross abuse of power and misuse of power must be stopped by every government agency.
“The only way we can build our institutions is to radically address the issue of abuse of power and misuse of power,” he said.
Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, added that “We are already in May. How can Parastatals be operating without any budget, especially in this time of the fight against corruption and ensuring that there is transparency in governance?
“We need to take this matter seriously because clearly these agencies are just flouting the guidelines and breaking the law.
“This is a very serious issue because as we all know, in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act, these budgets are meant to have been submitted to the National Assembly since August 2016.
“They are supposed to have come with the Appropriation document. We have now passed the 2017 budget without the budgets of the parastatals.
“I think this matter really needs to come up as a motion because this is a very serious matter. We need to debate it…
“I think once and for all, we need to address this issue and put an end to this disregard for laws and areas of corrupt practices,” Saraki said.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), National Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) have all concurred.
