The House of Representatives Committee on Appropriation declined the appearance of the representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor and the Comptroller General of Customs during the 2024 budget defence on December 8.
The committee insisted that the CBN governor, Yemi Cardoso and Custom CG, Adewale Adeniyi appear in person on Monday to answer questions on the 2024 budget.
The committee’s chairman, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi, emphasized the necessity for the Central Bank Governor’s attendance at the meeting, as it was convened to address budgetary matters.
He said:
- “We can only Interact with the Governor of the Central Bank because of the sensitivity of the issues in the budget. So, he needs to come and shed light on issues like inflation, exchange rate and all that.
- “So, it is important that he appear before the Committee on Monday at 10 am. The Comptroller General of Customs is also to appear in person because we are talking about the budget and how to increase our revenue. He is also to appear in person by 10.00 am on Monday.”
More on the Story
Speaking further, Bichi noted that despite the seemingly substantial N27 trillion budget, the revenue goal for government-owned entities to support it was insufficient. This prompted the committee to summon the different agencies for clarification.
Bichi, in his address, characterized the increasing inflation as a major concern, emphasizing the committee’s invitation for GOEs to partake in further interactions.
He said reducing the burden of Nigeria’s debt profile, sectorial budgetary allocations, and the dynamics of budget releases, economic diversification strategies, and revenue generation forecasts is needed to facilitate the enactment of the bill and effective implementation of the Appropriations Act, 2024.
According to him, revenue-generating agencies must come with money because, without money, there is no magic the President can perform to ensure the realization of the Renewed Hope Budget.
- “The objective of this engagement is, among others, to provide highlights on some key issues about the preparation, enactment, and implementation of the 2024 budget.
- “While the revised MTEF and FSP showed that revenue-generating efforts by the present administration are already yielding fruit, more needs to be done to ensure that government-owned enterprises optimize their revenue-generating potential,” he added.
Other agencies appearing before the committee on Monday are the Federal Inland Revenue Service, NPA, NNPC Limited, Minister of Finance, and Minister. Or State for Petroleum Resources, NUPRC, and the NCC.
