Abuja, Nigeria – The house committee on Internally displaced persons (IDP) in a session with the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs for the ministry’s budget defense session has questioned the incomplete budget document and extra budgetary spending of the ministry.
A member of the committee, Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante while speaking noted that the document presented before the committee does not conclusively and comprehensively cover the challenges of the ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
He therefore said that any engagement with the documents will mean that the house will be taking a fraction of the minister’s responsibility.
The minster of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Farouk, reacted when one of the lawmakers asked about the conditional cash transfer programme citing that it was off the main point.
Voices raised and temper flared when one of the lawmakers spoke on the refusal of the minister to honor previous invitations and another lawmaker became visibly upset with the line of questioning.
Hon. Abass Adigun, a member of the committee mentioned that the minister have been invited several times but never showed up noting that there shouldn’t be a gap between the ministry and the committee.
In defense, the minister replied that no one had invited her and she refused to come.
Hon. Fatuhu Mohammed, another member of the committee chirped in saying that the purpose of the gathering was budget defense and in the defense of the minister, Mohammed said
“We can see what happened after the #EndSARS, warehouse were broken and people found palliatives. People were criticizing the honorable minister of Humanitarian Affairs that she didn’t share anything”. So why are we harassing her?
Hon. Fatuhu Mohammed eventually stages a walk out on the budget defense session after his statement.
Reps Query 15 Billion Naira for East West Road
Meanwhile, at another defense budget session, the committee on Niger Delta Affairs, questioned the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs 2021 capital budget of the ministry which allocates 15 out of 19 billion naira to the East West Road project alone.
Speaking at the budget defense session, the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Essien Ayi who queried the allocation alone for the East west road project said the National Assembly will not give the money just for that project.
Also speaking at the budget defense session, the honorable minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio said
“We can spread things. Take the 15 billion and spread over and then we finish this administration without completing a single road. It won’t be the same, we must be different. Otherwise, we will be like NDDC that has about 12,000 abandoned projects across Niger Delta and it has spent trillions and those things are useless to the people
Senator GODSWILL AKPABIO – MINSTER OF NIGER DELTA AFFAIRS
The lawmakers want the ministry to look into the capital projects in all the oil producing states whom they say are not benefitting adequately from the oil they produce.
