By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriation yesterday but refused to answer the lawmaker’s questions on camera.
The Minister was asked to explain details of the funds saved by the Federal Government from the fuel subsidy removal and the amount spent on debt servicing in the 2024 fiscal year, and he chose to do so without the journalists.
A Senate Committee on Appropriation member, Senator Abdul Ningi, asked the questions.
Ningi asked the Minister to explain how proceeds from fuel subsidy removal were spent in the 2024 fiscal year.
He said, “What is the budget performance so far in the 2024 fiscal year, particularly in capital expenditure?
“We haven’t heard from the Minister how much has been saved from the removal of fuel subsidy and how much has been expended.
“We also haven’t heard from the Minister about the debt servicing. How much did we use to service our debts in 2004? How much are we expecting to service the debt in 2005?
“Finally, will the Minister of Finance guarantee that the extension of the capital component of the 2024 budget to June 30, 2025, will guarantee the desired results in terms of implementation that currently has a very low percentage?
Uncomfortable answering the questions in the presence of journalists, Edun pleaded with the senators to allow him to provide detailed answers behind closed doors.
Edun said, “Are we in a closed-door session? If not, I will humbly seek one so that I can provide detailed explanations to the questions asked.”
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, sought his colleagues’ understanding so that the Minister could provide the answers in a closed session.
Therefore, he asked the journalists to excuse themselves so that they could continue their deliberations behind closed doors.
Edun, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu, and other members of the economic team appeared before the panel.
However, in another development, the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, and his counterpart in the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali Mohammed Ali, also encountered a similar situation when they appeared before the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation.
They were asked to reconcile disjointed figures presented in the 2024 budget implementation before appropriating their projected figures for the 2025 fiscal year.
The panel appeared not to be satisfied with the estimates supplied by the two agencies and asked their Chief Executives to re-draft and re-present their budgetary proposals for the 2025 fiscal year.
The Committee, chaired by Senator Kenneth Eze (APC Ebonyi Central), tackled the NOA DG on the National Identity Project being implemented by the agency by saying the project was not known to Nigerians, particularly those residing at the grassroots.
The NOA DG explained to the committee members that the project is necessary to establish the right value system.
“The challenge we have about the value system is about national identity, which is necessary for galvanizing Nigerians for nation-building, national development, and growth,” Issa-Onilu explained.
The Committee, however, insisted that he go back and re-draft the agency’s programmes to be captured and appropriated for the 2025 fiscal year.
