The Nigerian senate has called for a complete restructuring of the nation’s budgeting model.
The Members of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Mines, Steel Development and Metallurgy who raised concerns on the annual envelope budgeting system of the federal government also condemned the lack of political will to revamp the Ajaokuta Iron and Steel project which could generate thousands of jobs for Nigerians.
The proposed N23.4 billion 2022 budget estimates enveloped for the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development was presented by the Minister of State, Dr Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah for consideration by the senate.
Dr Ogah who represented the Minister, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, said that; “Out of the N23.4 billion budget profile for the ministry in 2022, N10 billion is for personnel cost, N1.47 billion for overhead cost and N11 billion for capital projects.”
Members of the committee who expressed dissatisfaction with the Minister’s presentation decried the meagre budgetary allocation for the sector which, according to them, should rank second after the oil and gas sector.
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Umaru Tanko Al-Makura, said; “The yearly ritual called budget, is garbage in, garbage out, which will not take the country to anywhere as far as required diversification is concerned.”
“The type of budgeting process being carried out in this country over the years is stereotypic one. It is wrong for a budget to be conceptualised in the ministry, enveloped and forward to the National Assembly for approval,” he added.
Senator Smart Adeyemi while describing the present budgeting model as undemocratic, said the economic team of President Muhammadu Buhari is clearly out of tune with the realities on ground as regards to the needs of Nigerians.
“How on earth would a minister proposed N82 billion for procurement of mosquitoes net and a sector as important as the solid minerals be given N10 or N11 billion?
“Ajaokuta Iron and Steel Complex that can give jobs to about 50,000 Nigerians is lying fallow in a country with army of unemployed youths who can stage revolution at any time. Nigeria is bleeding from this envelope form of budgeting riddled with repetition of line items and allocations on yearly basis.
“Government may be building infrastructure, but building infrastructure is not as good as creating wealth through diversification of the economy. The best way of doing this is to remove whatever bottleneck hindering continuation of work on Ajaokuta Steel complex and get it completed,” he explained.
The Minister in his response however said that the envelope budgeting was not the creation of the ministry as it affects other government agencies.
“My appeal to you distinguished Senators on the current model of budgeting is for the National Assembly to seek the attention of the President.
“Operating with envelope as far as yearly budget is concerned, doesn’t make one think out of the box. It makes one looks stupid. We have the passion to drive the development of the country and transform into reality, the vision of Mr President like other patriotic Nigerians in one public office or the other,” he stressed.
He added that even with the envelope budgeting and lean resources, “The ministry has changed the narrative of low internally generated revenue to very appreciable figures now.”
PIAK
