By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
Chairman of the Senate Committee on National Population Commission, Senator Abdul Ningi, yesterday said there was no provision for the population and housing census scheduled for next year in the NPC’s budget proposal which was submitted to the National Assembly for consideration.
Ningi stated this when he appeared before the Joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriation to submit his panel’s report.
He informed the committee that if the money for the census was not provided for in the budget, the country would lose about N200bn which had been spent during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration by the National Population Commission, to prepare for the exercise.
He said that the NPC would appear tomorrow with their documentation to state how much they would need for the conduct of the 2024 population census.
Ningi said, “They will appear tomorrow with proper documentation of how much they need. If we don’t get the money, the nation will lose, the people will lose.
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“The money spent for the preparation for the census will go down the drain and it is a humongous amount of money, over N200bn already spent that is my take.”
*NASS: Error not accepted, we’ll appropriate resources for exercise
Reacting to the development, the Chairman of the Joint National Assembly Committee on Appropriation, Senator Solomon Adeola, expressed reservation over the error.
He, however, assured the panel on NPC that the federal parliament would look for funds to cater for the 2024 population census in the budget.
He said, “The head of the NPC should appear in company with the Committee Chairman to tell them what was needed for the conduct of the census which was scheduled to be held in the first quarter of next year.
“Let me assure you that the country will not lose and we are going to work very closely with them that a 25 per cent component is included, we must find a way to accommodate it in this 2024 budget.
“We would like the agency to appear along with the Chairman of the Committee, with a synopsis of the idea of what is going on about the issue of the census and whatever the issues are, I can assure you that we will resolve it and the population census will come up by the first quarter of 2024.”
Meanwhile, the Joint Committee on Appropriation has supported the inclusion of the controversial N1bn in the 2024 budget of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.
The panel gave support after receiving the report of the Joint National Assembly Committee on Industry, Trade, and Investment on the Ministry’s 2024 budget.
Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, Adeola, however, said the federal lawmakers would carry out aggressive oversight to ensure that the fund was appropriately utilized.
A member of the National Assembly standing committee overseeing the affairs of the ministry, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, during the budget defence session, said the ministry planned to spend the money on foreign trips next year.
The Minister, Doris Uzoka-Anite, issued a statement to explain that the N1bn was for the maintenance of the ministry’s desk office at the World Trade Centre in Geneva, Switzerland.
However, the Chairman of the joint panel on Industry, Trade and Investment, Senator Sadiq Umar, told the Appropriation panel on Tuesday, that the money was meant to attract foreign investors across the world to Nigeria.
Umar said, “The N1bn is not for foreign trips. It was meant to attract investors to Nigeria from all over the World. We are beginning to think that we need to review our trade interest structuring in the country.
“The government today, thinks that we need to strengthen the trade office here. However, Mr Chairman, we think that as a committee, we are going to be working with the Minister going forward to see how they make use of the foreign services the best way possible because that is primarily the job of foreign services.
“All the ministers, foreign affairs, ambassadors, their primary job is to be ambassadors for the country as far as trade is concerned. So, we are working with the minister and see how this can be integrated and I will ensure that the next offices in the foreign nations are functional.
“They have the trade, they have the capacity they have the understanding and of course, they have the resources to be able to attract investment into our country.”
*Petroleum ministry allocation of N5bn inadequate to address Tinubu’s gas policy, says Senator Jarigbe
Lead chairman of the joint committee on petroleum resources of upstream, downstream, and gas of the National Assembly, Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, has stated that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources capital budgetary allocation of N5bn is grossly inadequate to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s natural gas revolution policy.
The Senator, representing the Cross River north senatorial district, said there is an urgent need for the Federal Government to make deliberate efforts to transition from reliance on fossil fuels to dependence on natural gas, through effective and transparent budgetary provisions in a bid to turn the fortunes of the nation’s economy.
Jarigbe stated this in his opening address when the joint Senate/House of Reps Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream, Downstream & Gas), received a delegation from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources led by Ministers of State, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri and Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo at the 2024 budget defence session of the ministry of petroleum resources held at the National Assembly Complex.
He said President Tinubu’s promise to ameliorate the sufferings of the common man through introducing palliatives to cushion the effect of the subsidy removal. A subsequent commitment to building training workshops and providing CNG conversion kits, to advance the natural gas revolution policy of the Federal Government has become a mirage.
According to him, the joint committee observes with utter dismay, the non-provision of those Projects and Palliatives in the 2024 Appropriations Bill, which has been made available to the Joint Committee.
He said, “The budget of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources is neither here nor there. It does not reflect the policy direction of Mr President on the decade of gas and the use of Compressed Natural Gas, as an alternative source of fuel. A capital budget of N5.8bn for a ministry that is critical to achieving the natural gas revolution policy of the federal government and ameliorating the hardship imposed on the masses smacks of seriousness.
“The Steering Committee on the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas – Initiative has also refused to brief the National Assembly on its activities and programs. Their activities are shrouded in secrecy and the Ministers of State, Petroleum Resources (Oil & Gas) are totally in the dark, as to the activities of the P-CNGI.
“In trying to get self-help, the P-CNGI has embarked on a Fund-Raiser, which comes up tomorrow, to extort funds from so-called stakeholders. As a parliament, we do not align ourselves with running government programs in disregard of the provisions of the law.
“We cannot achieve what Mr President wants, without providing for the CNG-Project and other very important projects in the Appropriations Act. Doing so will only open a window for fraud, which will impact negatively on the citizenry. Let it be on record that the Steering Committee of the P-CNGI cannot account for the Funds already provided from the 500bn Naira approved for Palliatives for CNG advancement in the Country.”
Commending the President for his lofty initiative of transiting from the use of Fossil Fuel to the use of Natural Gas, he said: “We appeal that a proper framework be deployed, through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, with a transparent Budgeting System. Besides, we state that the NNPCL is wholly owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria, so, the National Assembly is empowered, under Sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Over-Sight NNPCL and its subsidiaries.”
Urging all stakeholders to engage in open dialogue and provide insightful inputs that will contribute to the formulation of a budget that aligns with our national priorities, Jarigbe called for collaborative efforts from everyone to address challenges and opportunities as well as uphold the interests of the citizens we serve even as he appreciated the dedication and hard work of everyone involved in advancing our petroleum industry.
In his presentation, the Ministers of State for Petroleum disclosed that the ministry received a budgetary allocation of N9.64bn for 2024 which includes personnel, overhead costs, and capital expenditure.
