By Ezrel Tabiowo
Abuja
Confusion trailed yesterday’s consideration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s supplementary appropriation bill following an additional request put forward by the Petroleum Ministry on subsidy claims to the tune of N108 billion.
The additional request by the federal government, which brings the total amount for subsidy claims to N521 billion, was put forward by the Permanent Secretary of the Petroleum Ministry, Hajia Jamila Suara, while appearing before the Committee on Appropriations yesterday to defend the ministry’s budget.
Last week, President Buhari forwarded a Supplementary Appropriation Bill of four hundred and sixty-five billion, six hundred and thirty-six million, nine hundred and twenty-six thousand, eight
hundred and fifty-seven Naira for the 2015 fiscal year.
But the Senate committee suspended same yesterday for want of necessary details.
Of the total sum, N413, 363,134,505 is for subsidy payment for petroleum imports, to arrest the current lingering fuel scarcity in the country.
Suara said the projected subsidy claims for the last quarter of the year apart from the N413 billion already requested for, is N108 billion, totalling N521 billion needed for fuel subsidy payment in the year.
“We just called the attention of the budget office to the fact that the proposal for the last quarter had not really been captured because it was about N108 billion,” she said.
The submission however could not be supported with facts and figures by both Ministry of Finance, as well as that of Budget and National Planning whose representatives were later directed by the committee to go for harmonisation.
Also, the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udo Udoma, sought the leave of the committee to allow his ministry, that of petroleum resources and finance meet to reconcile for the purpose of including the additional N108 billion in the supplementary budget.
But the Senator Danjuma Goje-led Senate Appropriation Committee observed that the sum did not cover October to December 2015.
Also, the committee was furious at the lack of synergy among government agencies whose functions, it said include management of petroleum resources and fuel subsidy.
He wondered why the Petroleum Ministry and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would forward carryover of subsidy bills from 2014 fiscal year to join the ones from January to September 2015, leaving out three critical months of the year.
More so, the Committee detected, from what Senator Albert Akpan (Akwa-Ibom) described as intelligent report, that the NNPC had hidden its own share of over N700 billion subsidy payment which they deducted at source without appropriation.
Consequently, the Senate panel approved request of the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum resources, that all the fuel subsidy agencies of government including the Budget Office, Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF), CBN, and NNPC to return to the drawing board and submit later in the day, 3pm, a comprehensive bill, that covers the remaining months of the year, 2015.
“This government is about change; change from sordid past; change is to totally eliminate queues from our filling stations; every person must play a role to effect positive changes in the economy,” the chairman continued.
Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria has approved the request by Brig-Gen. Mansor Dan Ali to waive the Bank Verification Number (BVN) for military personnel, who have just returned and those currently at
the war front in Sambisa Forest, to enable them access their bank accounts.
Speaking at the Supplementary Budget defence for the Federal Ministry of Defence, the Defence Minister regretted that the military boys were finding it difficult to access their accounts having been away on national assignment, when the BVN was introduced and closed.
He further enjoined the Goje Committee to recommend the N29.959 billion for Operation Zaman Lafiya (fight against Boko Haram); and N3,196,089,405 Salaries for 156 Recruits, Regular Combats and Direct Short Service respectively In the Supplementary appropriation for the NASS approval.
Other requests in the Supplementary Appropriation being considered by the Senate Committee included outstanding N10,618,837,435 for severance gratuity and allowances of out gone and incoming legislators and legislative aides; N1.5 billion for All African Games Qualification For Rio 2016 Olympics; N5 billion for Victim Support Fund; and N2 billion for Margin for Increases in Cost/Recurrent Adjustment.
Earlier, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma , urged the Committee to approve the request, explaining that the amount provided for fuel subsidy in the 2014 Budget was inadequate, and that there was deficit already in the budget implementation.
He added that it was the policy of President Buhari’s administration that no additional money should be spent without approval of the National Assembly hence the request for the N465.64 billion supplementary appropriation package, and request for approval to external loans, to fund the 2015 Budget.
The President had, in a letter conveying his request, which was read during plenary by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, asked the Senate to grant his request to borrow the sum of N2.10 trillion to
finance the budget as against an earlier approved N882 billion.
According to the president, the N1.2209 trillion increments were predicated on emerging realities in the country and that the loans would be sourced from both local and foreign sources.
