Subsidy: ‘FG spent N222.1bn without approval’

Between January and July 2015, the federal government spent N222.1 billion on fuel subsidy which was not captured in the budget, and the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on the Non-Implementation of the 2015 Capital Budget wants to know why.

The revelation was made by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Anastasia Daniel-Nwaobia, at the public hearing of the Committee on the Non-Implementation of the 2015 Capital Budget, in Abuja on Tuesday.

Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Pategi (APC Kwara), who expressed concern, that the money was neither appropriated, nor approved by the National Assembly, lamented that such unapproved expenditure by the executive was a source of concern for the legislature.

He said, “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,” Pategi said.

Pategi 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.

He directed the finance ministry to provide details in a position paper to be submitted to the clerk of the committee within the next two days.

Read also: Govt spends N1.69bn daily on petrol subsidy

Speaking on the Treasury Single Account (TSA), Pategi said the National Assembly would consider a review of the law establishing some of the revenue generating agencies, so they could retain some portion of their revenue like the Nigerian Customs Service which retains seven per cent of its revenue and remits 93 per cent to the Federation Account.

Representing the permanent secretary, the Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Aliyu Gusau, 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.”

Also speaking on the JP Morgan’s delisting of Nigeria’s bonds from its emerging market index, Gusau informed the committee: “In January 2015 JPMorgan 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 in the exchange rate and lack of a fully functional two-way forex market.

“However, the finance ministry, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Debt Management Office (DMO) will continue to ensure a stable forex market. We have assured JP 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.”

RipplesNigeria …without borders, without fears

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now