Four committees of the House of Representatives on Tuesday
jointly expressed dissatisfaction over the implementation of the Federal
Ministry of Transportation’s 2016 Budget.
They are Committees on Aviation; Land Transport; Maritime
Safety and Administration; Ports, Harbours and Waterways.
The committees, which visited the ministry’s headquarters in
Abuja on oversight function, threatened to give zero allocation to the ministry
in 2017.
Mr Mohammed Bago, the Chairman, Committee on Maritime Safety
and Administration, said that the ministry presented different documents to the
committees which did not contain facts.
He said that the ministry had received N243 billion and had
yet to spend it, adding that if the money was not used before the end of the
month, it would receive zero allocation in 2017.
“The different positions made to the committee of the house
on both land transport, ports and harbour, maritime safety and administration
as well as aviation has varied.
“We have received three different documents till date and
all of them are not consistent and that is why we have asked for a new document
to ascertain the value of what this project is all about.
“We are not going to appropriate on this budget until we
have the fact and figure and if we do not have the facts and figure, the
ministry of transport will get zero allocation.
“They have received 243 billion and they have not spent it
when Ministry of Health needs money because people are dying of meningitis,
Nigerian soldiers are dying in Sambisa, no money to fund the soldiers.
“The ministry of transportation is seating on billions of
Nigerians’ naira released to it and is not utilised.’’
Dr Patrick Asadu, Chairman of the Committee on Ports,
Harbours and Waterways, said that members were at the ministry to ensure that
money given to the ministry was well spent.
He said that the committee was not satisfied with the
document presented to it, adding that the money was not well spent.
“Our being here is to help the ministry to ensure that money
given to it was spent for what it was given for.
“But when this money is not well spent, we are not going to
release further money; we are trying to look at what happened in 2016 budget;
we are insisting that the ministry spends it or we give it to other agencies.
Mr Aminu Sani, Chairman, Committee on Land Transport, said
the budget presentation and performance presented before the joint committee
was not impressive.
He said most of the items presented in the document were not
in conformity with the expenditure.
According to him, the direct expenditure of the ministry is
zero performance in terms of budget implementation.
Earlier, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, said
that N60 billion had been paid for the Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge rail but
there was a challenge with the counterpart fund.
He said that the Chinese EXIM Bank was to fund 85 percent of
the project initially, but it was currently funding 78 percent.
He said that the bank insisted it would not pay for land,
survey and tax, stating that with the current foreign exchange rate and the extension
of the rail to the ports, the project could not be completed this year.
This story was first published on THE NATION
