By Adesuwa Tsan, Abuja
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun and his Budget and Economic Planning counterpart, Senator Atiku Bagudu again appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriations yesterday, where the lawmakers sought to know the status of monies accrued from fuel subsidy removal.
Edun, however, declined to brief the committee as requested, saying he would only do so if they went into a closed-door session.
The issue was raised by Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Baichi Central) who asked the minister to explain how proceeds from fuel subsidy removal were expended and how much was spent on debt servicing in the 2024 fiscal year.
He said, “What is the budget performance achieved so far for the 2024 fiscal year, particularly in terms of the capital expenditure? We haven’t heard from the Minister about how much has been saved from the removal of fuel subsidy and how much has been expended.
“We also haven’t heard from the Ministers about the debt servicing. How much have we actually used to service our debt in 2004?
“How much are we expecting to service the debt in 2025? Finally, will the Minister of Finance guarantee that the extension of the capital component of the 2024 budget to June 30, 2025, will give the desired results in terms of implementation that has a very low percentage now?”
Reacting to the question, Edun requested that the committee should enter into a closed-door session, saying, ”Are we in a closed-door session? If we are not in a closed-door session, I will humbly seek that for detailed explanations on the questions asked.”
Sequel to his request, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Senator Solomon Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West ) asked journalists to take their leave for the rest of the session.
Earlier, the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation(NOA) chaired by Senator Kenneth Eze (APC, Ebonyi Central) had budget defence sessions with the Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Issa – Onilu and that of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali Mohammed Ali.
Dissatisfied with their presentations, the duo were directed to re-draft and present their budgetary proposals for the 2025 fiscal year on another date.
For NOA, the lawmakers were not impressed by the National Identity Project being implemented by the agency, saying the project is not reaching the majority of Nigerians, especially those at the grassroots.
But in defence, Issa-Onilu focused on the importance of the project, which he stressed is very necessary for putting the right value system in place, galvanising Nigerians for nation-building, national development and growth.
However, the committee insisted that he should re=draft the programmes of the agency for the 2025 fiscal year.
Similarly, the Director General of NAN was told to go back and reconcile figures presented in the 2024 budget implementation before coming for the appropriation of projected figures for the 2025 fiscal year.