By Nathaniel Zacchaeus and Cross Udo, Abuja
The National Assembly yesterday summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu.
They are to explain the Federal Government’s commitment to diversify the country’s economy from its heavy dependence on crude revenues.
While justifying the decision, the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committees on Solid Minerals raised concerns over the Ministry of Solid Mineral’s paltry funding in the 2025 budget.
The panel said Edun and Bagudu should appear before the federal lawmakers on Tuesday (today) in company with the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Tanimu Yakubu.
The committees, jointly chaired by Senator Ekong Samson and Gaza Jonathan, after the Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake, appeared before lawmakers yesterday.
He was there to express his frustrations at having worked hard to increase the budgetary allocations to the Ministry without success.
Alake told the lawmakers that all his efforts could only get the Ministry an initial envelope of N5bn.
He said, “In fact, to let you know, the envelope we first received was N5bn. I don’t know if you are aware of that. It was N5bn,” he informed the members.
Alake disclosed that when he stepped up mounting pressure on the ministers and the DG budget after President Bola Tinubu presented the estimates to the National Assembly, he was reassured that the allocation would be increased substantially only to be just N9bn.
“The Permanent Secretary is here, and the night before the President came here when we were working on the rehearsal of the budget speech, the Director of Budget came in, and the Minister of Budget and I took them up in the presence of the President.
“What did they do? They promised that it would be done. So, again the following day, after the President’s presentation, we found N9bn,” he stated.
Speaking further on his frustrations, Alake said, “There is no way that I can begin to tell you, except I have videos that I can show you of the several engagements that we had with the relevant budgetary authorities and individuals driving this process, and at every turn, we received very positive responses.
“Now, distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, when we had received very positive responses from those saddled with the responsibility of putting our budgets together, what else could we have done?
“There was no way we would rig their hands, and I don’t have the authority to compute the figures myself.”
When asked why his close relationship with President Tinubu didn’t translate to getting improved funding for his plans for the solid minerals sector, Alake replied that not everything he discussed with the President could be made public.
Alake defended the President, arguing that he was not to blame for the funding challenges the Ministry and its plans had suffered.
According to him, Tinubu is passionate about diversifying the economy, which is a cornerstone of his reform agenda.
He said, “Many members here have rightly noted that my relationship with the President should be counted upon. I agree, but several things cannot be pointed out in the open.
“I cannot be divulging my conversations with the President on this issue in the open. I am a manager of information, and I have done that for over 40 years. I know how delicate information is.
“So, I give information on a need-to-know basis or in private. So, in short, the President is not unaware of our strides in the solid minerals sector.
“Every minute I am with him, apart from other issues we discuss or the assignments he gives me, I draw tales of solid minerals, and we discuss all ratifications.
“I want also to emphasise, or maybe remind, distinguished Senators and honourable members, that if the President were not in tune or sync with our vision, the diversification of the economy away from oil would not be a critical part of his programme of Renewed Agenda. It wouldn’t be. He coined it; he carved it.
“So, I want us to understand that it is not because the President has not been intimated of the need for upward review that we are having this situation, not at all, and this is not to absolve the President of anything. I am just laying bare the facts.”
Members of the committee mostly expressed surprise that a government committed to diversifying the economy did not make adequate budgetary provisions for solid materials development, one of the most important sectors that it could use to rival earnings from the oil and gas industry.
Sampson noted that solid minerals development was the mainstay of their economies in other climes, as exemplified by the vast annual funding provisions for the sector.
He said, “We have seen how some economies are managed. How do we diversify our economy if we don’t invest in solid minerals?
We have to diversify, and we must do it masterfully. So, those concerned (Edun, Bagudu, Yakubu) have to appear before the joint committees to give us clear insights into what they intend to do).
Also speaking, Jonathan told the session that Nigeria appeared unprepared for economic diversification, which he said must be accomplished with a robust plan and a budget.
The committees later put on hold the ministry’s budget defence until Tuesday to hear from the invited ministers and the DG of the budget office before making any further decisions.
*N46bn for labour ministry insufficient to attain set objectives, Dingyadi tells NASS
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, told the National Assembly joint Committee on Labour, Employment and Productivity that the N46 billion allocated to the Ministry in the 2025 budget was insufficient to attain the objectives, especially in employment generation.
Consequently, the Minister called for more budgetary allocation to enable the Ministry to scale up the performance of key areas of its mandate.
He noted that the fund would mainly be used to renovate, reconstruct, and re-equip the skills development centres under the Ministry and its agencies across the country, which would generate employment.
Dingyadi spoke in Abuja at the 2025 Budget Defence meetings with the House and Senate Committees on Employment, Labour, and Productivity, respectively.
He noted that this year’s total budgetary allocation of N46.079bn for the Ministry and its parastatals would not be sufficient to attain the set objectives.
The Minister maintained that skill development programmes would generate sustainable job opportunities for individuals, ultimately promoting national economic growth.
Dangyadi stressed that creating jobs through skill development is crucial to achieving part of the federal government’s agenda.
The Minister said, “One of the key priorities of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is job creation, which falls under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. To achieve this noble objective, we need special funds to renovate, reconstruct, and re-equip the skills development centres under the Ministry and its agencies across the country.”
“We know that many of the infrastructural projects in this year’s budget can be used to create jobs for our teeming youths. However, over 60% of such jobs are unskilled jobs that are not sustainable. Once the project is completed, many will return to become unemployed.
“The best solution to unemployment is the creation of skilled jobs with starter packs, where trainees will set up their self-sustaining jobs to contribute to the nation’s economic growth,” the Minister said.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour, and Productivity, Senator Diket Plang, stated that the Ministry deserved a boost to its budgetary allocation to enable it to function effectively.
Speaking, Adefarati Adegboyega, Chairman of the House Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity, emphasised the significant role of skill development in the nation’s economic growth.
He noted that sustainable employment programmes, such as skill development, would provide a permanent solution to unemployment, unlike occasional palliatives that only offer temporary relief.
