By Chukwudi Obasi, Abuja
The National Assembly Joint Committee on Agricultural Production and Services has threatened to allocate zero funding to agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security whose Chief Executive Officers fail to appear in person to defend their 2025 budget estimates.
Senator Saliu Mustapha, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, and his House of Representatives counterpart, Bello Kaoje, issued the warning yesterday.
Both lawmakers expressed disappointment that some agency heads chose to travel at this critical time despite the President’s directive to appear personally before the National Assembly for budget defence.
Their displeasure was triggered by Dr Vincent Isegbe, the Director-General of the Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Service’s absence during the agency’s budget defence session.
Mustapha reprimanded the representative sent by the Director General, emphasizing that the Chief Executive, as the accounting officer, must personally defend the budget.
He directed Isegbe to appear no later than Monday, January 20, to present the agency’s budget.
Mustapha stated, “We will not entertain excuses. When the President presented this budget, he clarified that all agency heads must appear before the National Assembly to defend their estimates.
“Traveling at this time is unacceptable. We are giving him another chance, but our timeline for submitting the report is tight, so it is in his best interest to comply.
“There’s no need to complicate this process. Even if he had an excuse, he should have been here to delegate responsibilities officially.
“The President explicitly instructed against travel during budget defence, and now is not the time to disregard such directives.”
He stressed that food security is a pressing issue, citing projections from the World Food Programme that about 33.1 million Nigerians could face acute hunger in 2025.
“This projection underscores the urgency of prioritizing food security. Agriculture plays a critical role in economic stability, rural development, and ensuring food availability and our budgetary provisions must reflect this reality,” he said.
Mustapha also voiced concern over rising food prices, which have placed essential food items beyond the reach of the average Nigerian. He emphasized the need for policy adjustments to enhance agricultural productivity and ensure food availability.
Additionally, he criticized the imbalance between capital and recurrent expenditures in the proposed agricultural budget, urging a realignment to reposition the sector and restore its former glory.
The House Committee on Agricultural Production and Services chairman, Bello Kaoje, also warned against agencies failing to defend their budgets.
He remarked, “Given the importance of these budgetary provisions, the President presented the budget to a joint session of the National Assembly.
There is no justification for any agency head to be absent. You are not the accounting officer, so how can you defend the budget? We give your agency 48 hours to appear, or your allocation will be zero.”
Kaoje also highlighted the state of emergency on food security declared by the President in 2024, emphasising its importance.
He assured the committee would work closely with the Minister of Agriculture to address sectoral challenges and ensure that the budget aligns with the President’s “Renewed Hope” agenda for improving food security.
“We will collaborate with the Appropriation Committee to enhance the budget and tackle the challenges in agriculture. This will ensure that food security and increased agricultural productivity are met,” Kaoje concluded.
