Budget Defence: Senate Grills Ministers and MDA Heads Over 2024/2025 Budget Proposals

In a tense budget defence session held on Thursday, top government officials, including the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun; Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Atiku Bagudu; and heads of various agencies such as the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, and Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Ali Mohammed Ali, were rigorously questioned by Senators over the 2024/2025 budget proposals.

The primary focus of the grilling was the performance of the 2024 budget and the anticipated implementation of the 2025 budget, particularly regarding capital expenditure and the handling of the fuel subsidy removal savings.

Edun and Bagudu were particularly scrutinised by the Senate Committee on Appropriation. The committee, led by Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), demanded clarity on various aspects of the 2024 budget, particularly capital expenditure, savings from the fuel subsidy removal, and the country’s debt servicing commitments. Senator Ningi posed several pressing questions:

• “What has been the performance of the 2024 budget, especially in terms of capital expenditure?”
• “How much has been saved from the removal of the fuel subsidy, and how has it been utilized?”
• “What has been spent on debt servicing in 2024, and what is the projection for 2025?”
• “Will extending the capital component of the 2024 budget to June 30, 2025, ensure better implementation results?”

The barrage of questions caught Edun off-guard, prompting him to request a closed-door session to provide more detailed responses. “Are we in a closed-door session? If not, I humbly request that, for detailed responses to these questions,” Edun asked. The committee, under the leadership of Senator Solomon Olamilekan (APC, Ogun West), granted this request, clearing the room of journalists for a private discussion.

Meanwhile, at a separate budget defence session, the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, chaired by Senator Kenneth Eze (APC, Ebonyi Central), expressed dissatisfaction with the budget proposals of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). The committee ordered the agencies to revise and resubmit their budget proposals for the 2025 fiscal year.

NOA’s DG, Issa-Onilu, faced pointed questions regarding the National Identity Project, which the committee argued had limited visibility among Nigerians, particularly at the grassroots level. Issa-Onilu defended the project by emphasising its importance in shaping the nation’s value system, crucial for fostering national development. However, the committee insisted that NOA revise its programs to ensure they are more aligned with the needs of the 2025 fiscal year.

Similarly, NAN’s MD, Ali Mohammed Ali, was instructed to address discrepancies in the figures presented for the 2024 budget implementation and to return with a revised proposal for 2025.

The Senate’s rigorous questioning reflects its commitment to upholding transparency and ensuring that public funds are appropriated and utilized effectively for the nation’s development. The grilling of the ministers and agency heads highlights the Senate’s role in maintaining accountability in governance and public finance.