2024 Budget: Senate Tackles Minister over Plans to Spend N1bn on Foreign Trip

•Flays meagre allocation to information ministry

•Tinubu seeks approval for 19 NPC commissioners

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Members of the Joint National Assembly Committee on Industry, Trade and Investment, yesterday, tackled the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Nkiruka-Anite, over her ministry’s proposal to spend N1bn to travel abroad next year.

The Minister, who was at the National Assembly to defend her ministry’s 2024 budget said the N1 billion would be spent on a trip to Geneva in 2024.

In a similar breath, the Senate Committee on Information hasdescribed as unacceptable, the meagre allocations proposed for the Ministry of Information and National Orientation in the N27.5trillion  2024 budget.

However, the proposal by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment was captured in the budget document submitted to the Committees, which elicited reactions from members, who felt, the amount was outrageous and out of tune with the mandate of her office.

The minister was asked to address the panel and speak to the document as well as an explanation on the performance of the 2023 budget before seeking for fresh funds.

The Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District and former Governor, Adams Oshiomhole raised concern over the minister’s plan to embark on trip Geneva with a proposed N1 billion.

Oshiomhole said the minister should use experts in her offices to achieve results rather than embarking on trip that would gulp such a humongous amount of money.

“I see that you intend to travel to Geneva next year and you have budgeted over one billion for that. We can’t keep going on with over blotted teams on abroad trips. Use the experts we have in your offices in those country to save cost,” he said.

Oshiomhole also noted that the Minister was not always available in office to discharge her responsibilities, revealing that she was always at the Bank of Industry.

He said she should have made her preference for BOI known to President Tinubu before her appointment as Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment.”

“Madam sit in your office and work for Nigerians. I have gone there twice. You are always in the BOI. If you preferred BOI, you should have declined the President’s nomination to be Minister.

“Let’s practice what we preach. We can’t talk about industrialisation and keep importing toothpicks and tyres. We must ensure that we have homegrown products,” he said.

Oshiomhole said the minister was not doing enough, andasked if the ministry knew the nation’s balance of trade between it and other business transactional countries.

In her response, she said: “I assure you that I can work from anywhere and give Nigerians results. My office is currently under renovation. Sir, I regret to say that we seem to have no record of our balance of trade.

“Or at least it doesn’t exist in the Ministry and that is why we initiated a new unit called trade intelligence Unit to ensure that such data are generated and stored.”

but Oshiomhole insisted that there was data at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Customs Service, NCS and other agencies, which the Ministry has failed to access.

Meanwhile , the Minister of Information,  Alhaji Mohammed Idris Malagi, was at the National Assembly to explain the implementation of his ministry’s 2024 budget.

The Minister had in his presentation before the committee informed the senators that national   values and attitudes  re-orientation campaign under the aegis  of National Values Charter (NVC), would be launched  in early 2024

He said, “It  is the desire of the ministry to have a big national conversation around our values and attitudes re-orientation, so that Nigeria will at least rediscover its self and reclaim some of those values that have been eroded over the years, so that we can have a better country for all of us.

“We also desire the launch of the National and International branding campaign  for Nigeria to highlight and showcase Nigeria  immense natural and  cultural  resources,” among other big plans.

But he was quick to add that the N1billion earmarked for the ministry as capital expenditure in 2024,  would not be anyway sufficient for implementation of the programmes.  

The committee chairman, Senator Kenneth Eze  (APC Ebonyi Central), said provisions in the 2024 budget were nothing to write home about for implementing such laudable visions.

“This  is not a budget that can be visible if we are telling our story as a country. There is no way we can go far. You have a great initiative on how you are going to transform the country in area of information. I wonder how you are going to do that with this so little fund.

“Information is a very sensitive ministry that should be  taken seriously, and funded, and if we are talking about renewed hope agenda,  that we want as a country, information should  be at the forefront; it should be the image maker, to sensitise the people, there is a widening gap between the government and  information  has to bridge this gap.”

Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu, yesterday, asked the Senate to confirm the nomination of 19  National Population Commission (NPC) Commissioners.

President Tinubu made the request in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, which he read on the floor of the Chamber during plenary session.

The nominees are: Emmanuel Eke (Abia), Clifford Zirra (Adamawa), Chidi Ezeoke (Anambra), Isa Buratai (Borno), Alex Ukam (Cross River), Blessyn Brume-Ataguba (Delta) and Jeremiah Nwankwegu (Ebonyi).

Others are Tony Aiyejina (Edo), Ejike Ezeh (Enugu), Abubakar Damburam (Gombe), Uba Nnabue (Imo), Dogon Garba (Kaduna), Aminu Tsanyawa (Kano), Yori Afolabi (Kogi), Olakunle Sobukola (Ogun), Temitayo Oluwatuyi (Ondo), Mary Afan (Plateau), Ogiri Henry (Rivers) and Saany Sale (Taraba).

Similarly, the President also requested the apex legislative Assembly, to approve the nominations of Babajide Fasina (South-West), Enorense Amadasu (South-South), and Bashir Indabawa (North-West) as NPC Commissioners.

The Committee on National Identity Management Commission was given two weeks to conclude the screening and provide a report for further legislative action.