Ministries fail to access N256b in 2011 budget

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 Reps threaten to foil presentation of 2012 document

THE House of Representatives yesterday heard that N256 billion voted for capital projects in the 2011 budget could not be accessed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Minister of State for Finance, Yerima Lawan Ngama, who briefed the House Committee on Appropriation on the level of implementation of the 2011 budget, said that what remained in the account of the MDAs for capital projects in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was N256.3 billion, adding that N332.07 billion had been utilised.

Also yesterday, the House Committee on Banking and Currency said it would explore ways of making operators and regulators to share part of losses arising from bank failures.

Chairman of the panel, John Onyereri, stated this at an interaction with the CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who was at the National Assembly to brief the committee on the interventionist activities of the apex bank in the wake of the crisis in the sector.

Onyereri said the committee would not only promote a regime of transparency in banking regulation, monetary policy, burden, deposit insurance, bank asset management and currency regime but also ensure a balance of authority with responsibility.

Meanwhile, the Lower House has threatened to prevent President Goodluck Jonathan from presenting the 2012 budget to the Legislature without detailed explanation on the Medium Term Fiscal Frame-work (MTFF).

The threat came at a meeting between the House Committee on Appropriation and officials from the Ministry of Finance led by Ngama at the National Assembly.

Disappointed that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was absent at the meeting, the committee headed by John Enoh, gave five days ultimatum to her to appear before it to defend the MTFF.

He warned that if she fails to comply with the directive, the House would not allow Jonathan to present the 2012 budget to the National Assembly.

Ngama had told the committee that the level of implementation of the 2011 budget stood at 57.03 per cent despite the fact that 66 per cent of the funds had been approved for release for projects' execution.

Explaining the difference in the amount approved and the implementation level, Ngama said some MDAs failed to meet with the conditions and financial regulations required for cash-backing the releases and therefore could not secure the full amount of money approved for particular projects.

Also yesterday, the House adopted a motion for the construction of Greenfield Refinery at Itobe, Kogi State.

The House referred the motion to its Committee on Petroleum Downstream for further legislative input.



The Guardian