Following the adjournment of plenary by the House of Representatives for budget defence by Ministries, Department and Agencies, MDAs, the House Committee on Finance has began a three (3)-day Budget Hearing for Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) under its jurisdiction.
The House Committee on Finance played host to the minister of finance, Mr. Wale Edun, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc.
The Chairman of the House committee on Finance, Mr. James Faleke directed the ministry and NBET to return with complete 2025 budget performance documents before consideration of their 2026 budget proposals.
He frowned at agencies making unprepared appearances
“Talking about revenue, we want to know the sources. What makes up that revenue as against what target. Do you have your documents budget head by budget head? You are not ready. Summit all other relevant documents tomorrow,” Mr. Faleke said while dismissing NBET.
The Acting Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Mr. Johnson Akinnawo, presented the company’s 2025 budget performance and 2026 proposal.
He attributed implementation challenges to low capital releases.
The Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) announced that the review of the national revenue allocation formula is nearing completion after extensive consultations and data analysis.
The Chairman of the commission, Dr. Mohammed Shehu, disclosed this while appearing before the House of Representatives Committee on Finance during a three-day budget defence session for Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
He also informed lawmakers that the review of the remuneration of political office holders had been concluded and submitted to the President through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
He noted that work on the vertical and horizontal revenue sharing formula would be completed within the year.
Monitoring Committee
Mr. Shehu further revealed plans to re-establish a local government monitoring committee to curb state interference and improve service delivery at the grassroots, noting that engagements with revenue-generating agencies were already improving compliance.
In a related presentation, the Federal Ministry of Finance’s proposed ₦14.325 billion 2026 budget also came under scrutiny, with lawmakers questioning discrepancies in the capital expenditure component.
The breakdown showed ₦4.5 billion for personnel costs, ₦4.6 billion for overheads and ₦5.2 billion for capital projects.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, explained that the capital figure included debt service items classified by the Budget Office, which are outside the ministry’s regular capital expenditure.
A member of the committee, Mr. Hart Cyril, raised concerns over NBET’s expenditure priorities, particularly high spending on international travel compared to minimal funding for office and residential maintenance.
Other MDA’s are expected to appear subsequently