2025 Budget: NASS threatens to halt funding of government agencies

Revenue-generating organisations have been given 48 hours by the National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance to show up or risk having their government funding for activities in 2025 revoked.

The legislators criticised the agencies for not responding to invitations to defend their 2025 budget and revenue-generating profile.

According to The Nation, the agencies include the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigerian Postal Service (NPS), and the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC).

Others are the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The Nigerian Copyright Commission, National Insurance Commission, National Pensions Commission, National Space and Research Development Agency, and the Nigerian Metrological Agency are also included.

The rest are the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporations, Airspace Management Authority, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Bank of Industry (BoI), and Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaira.

Senator Sani Musa (APC-Niger), the chairman of the Senate Committee of Finance, stated during the second day of the revenue profiling exercise that President Bola Tinubu ordered all ministers and heads of agencies to appear before the National Assembly to defend their respective budgets when he presented the 2025 budget.

Senator Musa claims that in order to fulfil the national assignment, National Assembly members had to shorten their Christmas vacation. But according to him, to their dismay, however, several agencies have declined invitations to come before the committee to examine their 2024 performance and, if appropriate, their 2025 projections.

The lawmakers therefore, reminded the top executives of the agencies that they have 48 hours to come before the Joint Committee, as per the constitutional authority granted to the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committees on Finance, adding that the Committee will not think twice about recommending to the Appropriations Committee that no appropriation be made to these agencies.

They also threatened to also ask the Federation’s Accountant General and the Minister of Finance to stop supporting the agencies.

James Faleke (APC-Lagos State), the chairman of the House Committee on Finance, stated that increasing income collection and reducing borrowing were the main goals of the budget defence exercise.

He stressed that the National Assembly will take the necessary action if the agencies decline to come before the Committee.

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