2025 Budget: Reps Criticize NEITI For Allocating N32m For Meals
The House of Representatives has sharply criticized the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for including a ₦32 million allocation for meals in its 2025 budget, amid the ongoing economic challenges faced by Nigerians.
The criticism arose during a budget defense session for NEITI, where the agency’s Executive Secretary, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, presented its budget proposal. NEITI’s total 2025 budget is ₦6.5 billion, which includes ₦2.22 billion for personnel, ₦1.72 billion for overheads, and ₦2.58 billion for capital projects.
Lawmakers, particularly from the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), expressed concerns over the inclusion of seemingly unnecessary expenditures. Hon. Kafilat Ogbara (APC, Lagos) questioned the agency’s prioritization of spending, especially in the face of Nigeria’s difficult economic circumstances. She emphasized that government agencies should ensure their budget proposals reflect realistic and justifiable expenses, rather than treating the budget process as an opportunity to “share the national cake.”
“There is no way you can spend that amount of money for meals in a year, especially when Nigerians are enduring hardships,” Ogbara stated.
Hon. Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos) also voiced concerns, suggesting that agencies need to be more mindful of the economic situation. He stressed that the National Assembly should not be viewed as a rubber-stamp body and emphasized the need for careful scrutiny of public spending.
Hon. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the committee’s chairman, criticized the language used in NEITI’s budget proposal, particularly the inclusion of a welfare package that listed the National Assembly as beneficiaries. He questioned why such allocations were made, especially considering that the committee had not conducted any oversight visits to the agency. Doguwa underscored the importance of agencies justifying their expenditures, especially in a time of economic difficulty.
During the session, Orji outlined NEITI’s efforts to collaborate with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover significant sums owed to the federal government by stakeholders in the oil sector. He mentioned that the agency had successfully recovered over $3.7 billion in outstanding liabilities from oil companies, based on reports from 2020 and 2021.
The committee emphasized the need for more prudent and transparent management of public funds, urging NEITI to re-evaluate its spending priorities and ensure that resources are allocated in a manner that truly serves the public interest.
