By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The National Assembly yesterday tasked the heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government with presenting budgets that are realistic, implementable, focused, and with measurable outcomes for legislative scrutiny.
The Joint National Assembly Committee on Finance Chairman, Senator Sani Musa, charged yesterday when the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, appeared before the panel to defend the Ministry’s 2025 budget.
The session was also attended by the Accountant General of the Federation, Dr Oluwatoyin Madein, and the Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Mr Victor Muruako.
Musa said the MDA budgets should have a clear purpose and, upon implementation, translate to tangible benefits for the populace.
He said it was the legislature’s responsibility to ensure the efficient and transparent allocation of government resources to drive development and meet the people’s needs.
He added that the Ministry of Finance is foundational in shaping economic policies and fiscal strategies.
They said, “The impact of this action will be released across all sectors, and as such, this budget must reflect prudence, accountability, and alignment with the people’s priorities. We understand the challenges you face in balancing the demands of your mandate with available resources.
“However, as custodians of the public costs, we must ensure that everyone contributes meaningfully to our shared goals.
“This session is an opportunity for MDAs to address the challenges they face supported by clear data and justifiable expenditures; this process is not adversarial but collaborative as we all share the common goal of advancing the economic well-being of our country,” Musa said.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, said the nation’s economy was moving in the right direction.
He said, “We’re all moving in the right direction; all the different subsectors are doing positively; yes, we want those who are creating jobs to do even better and utilize the funds well.
“And I think we have justified that not only do we want N13bn in the 2025 budget for the Ministry, but there’s also an extra need for large-scale capital expenditure, which requires another N25bn.
Edun said that reducing inflation was a key function of monetary policy.
“Central Bank is indicating a 15 percent inflation rate by the end of 2025; it is achievable; we are working hard towards it and look forward to achieving it.
“Their signaling of where inflation is expected to lie has given us this interest rate. However, we all have a role to play.
“Even if monetary policy helps to bring down inflation, however, on the fiscal side, it is essential that we contribute to lower inflation, not just by squeezing demand, but by increasing supply.
“Increasing food supply is one of the major commitments already laid out. We are having a dry season harvest now, and we have mobilised 250,000 farmers to produce 750,000 metric pounds of assorted grains from the dry season farming.”
Responding to a question on the adoption of an envelope system of budgetary proposal for MDAs, the Minister said
He said, “We have a more pragmatic system to improve everything. For right now, the envelope systems in terms of the capital project are about revenue, and a key task and a key target is ramping up revenue, already, as you have seen, revenue from Custom Service, revenue from FIRS, generally.
“The number one place to get revenue and foreign exchange, we all know, is the NNPCL, the oil sector, and we have good prospects because significant improvements are being made in the more competitive environment for international investors and oil companies.
“Finally, Mr. Chairman, we are looking at the non-oil sector, which has continued to use a robust application of technology that we believe will maximise revenue generation,” the Minister said.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammadu Dingyadi, has said that the Ministry is making efforts to tackle unemployment in the country.
He made this known on Monday when he appeared before the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour, and Productivity, chaired by Sen. Diket Plang (APC—Plateau).
Dingyadi, who noted that he was barely three months old when he took office, said that “we have each and every hour been fighting unemployment in the Ministry because that is our key assignment.
“That is the key responsibility that the Minister of Labour and Employment is leading with. We are doing all the skill development programmes that this Ministry is doing to fight unemployment.
“This is our major responsibility. And like I said, we are on top of the situation to ensure that we fight unemployment.”
When asked about unemployment statistics, Dingyadi said he would not want to give figures he wasn’t sure of, adding that we don’t know if this question will be answered.
“By way of presenting figures, I don’t want to go into giving you figures that I’m not very sure of. But I want to assure you that we have these figures.
“I didn’t come with them. And we have to coordinate them because all our parastatals and agencies are working on this issue of fighting unemployment.
“So we’ll coordinate and provide our committee with these figures. Members of this committee are very serious and very intelligent.
“When we bring these figures, you will know whether what we tell you is correct. So please give us a little time. We will prepare these figures for you and make them public if you want us to,” he said.
“I’m sure the figures are there. We didn’t come with them because we don’t know this question will be answered.”
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Diket Plang, appreciated Tinubu’s commitment to the welfare, well-being, and happiness of all Nigerian workers, both in the public and private sectors.
He also acknowledged the Ministry’s commitment to ensuring decent work and promoting employment opportunities.
