The House of Representatives has questioned the Federal Government for spending N222.1 billion on fuel subsidy between January and July 2015 without approval from the National Assembly.Indications also emerged yesterday that President Muhammadu Buhari may present a supplementary bill to the 2015 Appropriation Act to the National Assembly soon.Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel- Nwaobia, who spoke yesterday at the ongoing investigative public hearing on non-implementation of the capital component of the 2015 Appropriation Act, held at the instance of the House of Representatives, disclosed that the amount was spent on petroleum subsidy within the period.
Testifying before the committee, she said: “It is important to inform this committee that I am aware that federal govern-ment is handling a number of these issues in the supplementary budget in respect of the 2015 budget. But I’m not in a position to pre-empt Mr. President in that matter.
“But I believe that he’s fully aware of the situation and I’m also aware that we have done something in respect of the supplementary budget that we have passed to Mr. President,” she said. While reacting to the presentation, chairman of the ad hoc committee, Hon. Aliyu Ahman-Pategi queried the sum of N221 billion extra-budgetary spending on fuel subsidy as at June 2015 without the approval of the National Assembly. Ahmani-Pategi expressed displeasure at the development, explaining that such extra-budgetary expenditure have been issues of concern to the parliament. He queried the source of the approval for the expenditure.
“Appropriation is an Act, and we insist on its implementation, we want to know where there are challenges, but to spend monies such as the N222.1 billion without recourse to the parliament is not acceptable to us,” the lawmaker said. He also queried the loan of N615.96 billion from the Ways and Means Account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), without recourse to the National Assembly and directed the ministry to provide details in a position paper to be submitted to the Clerk of the Committee within the next two days.
Speaking on the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Pategi said the National Assembly would consider review of the Act establishing some of the revenue generating agencies, so they can retain some portion of their revenue, like the Customs Service which retains seven per cent of its revenue and remits 93 percent to the Federation Account. “For instance, last year the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) collected N161 billion, they spent all of it and remitted only N1 billion.
These agencies belong to the people, you cannot spend these monies without recourse to parliament,” Pategi said. The Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Alhaji Aliyu Gusau, who represented the permanent secretary, said he did not have enough information on the expenditure. On the loan secured from the CBN, Gusau said: “This is an item under contingency funds, but it allows for room to take loans and things like that, but I am not too conversant with the details. “In January 2015 J.P Morgan placed Nigeria on an index watch as a result of their concerns in the operations of our foreign exchange market, namely liquidity for transactions, plus the fluctuations exchange rate and lack of a fully functional two-way forex market.
However, the finance ministry, the CBN and the Debt Management Office (DMO) will continue to ensure a stable forex market. We have assured J.P Morgan and other investors that the market for FGN bonds remain strong and active due primarily to the strength and diversity of the domestic investor base.” He disclosed that the recent S&P rating scored Nigeria B+ due to transparency in doing business, and added that Fitch rating is being awaited.
The Deputy Governor of the CBN, Mr. Sulaiman Barawu, in his presentation explained that the Ways and Means Account is approved by law as contingency for the Federal Government to borrow from to fund its deficit, up to five per cent of the preceding year’s revenue. “What JP Morgan wanted us to do is to allow uncontrolled devaluation of the currency.
We think that is harmful to the economy,” he said, adding that the CBN believes the naira is appropriately priced at N197/$1. The House Committee also expressed its displeasure at the continued absence of the Finance Ministry’s Permanent Secretary for the third time.
Pategi described her absence as ‘negligent’, adding that while she had responsibilities to the president of the country, she also had a responsibility to Nigerians through the National Assembly. The lawmakers also queried the ministry on the utilisation of over N600 billion borrowed from the CBN to finance the salaries and wages contrary to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act which provides that money borrowed should be used to fund only capital projects..
newstelegraph
|
