Senate gives NNPC, CBN, 61 others 7 days to submit budgets

The Senate yesterday gave the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and 61 other federal agencies seven days to submit their budgets.

The agencies were mandated in line with the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 to submit their budgets to the National Assembly for scrutiny and passage.

The ultimatum was sequel to a point of order by the Senate Leader Ahmad Lawan (APC, Yobe). He said out of the 64 agencies mandated to submit their budgets, only the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) had complied.

“Mr President, my office has been working closely with the office of Senator Ita Enang. We have insisted that the details of the budgets must be presented to the Senate so that it would be considered alongside the 2018 budget and be passed as quickly as it can and together.

“So far Mr President it is only one that has submitted. I want this Senate to give an ultimatum of one week to all the agencies in which they will submit the details of the budget to our committees to consider the appropriation for 2018,” he said.

Senate President Bukola Saraki asked the agencies not take the cooperation of the National Assembly for weakness.

“Our cooperation should not be misread as weakness or not knowing what to do because definitely we can mandate the Ministry of Finance to ensure that they do not further other releases because they are breaking the law. We will give them one week and after that one week they don’t then we’ll take necessary actions to show that they need to comply with the law that guides them,” he said.

This is third time that an ultimatum was issued to the agencies. It was issued in 2016, 2017 and this year.

Other affected agencies are; Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), National Maritime Authority (NMA), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerians Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigerians Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Federal Mortgage Bank (FMB) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), amongst others.