Finance Minister Exonerates Self From the Alleged Budget Padding

On Tuesday, Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, said claims of budget padding of projects and allocations in the 2023 Appropriation Bill made no sense.

Ahmed said: ‘‘Let me clarify unequivocally that the allegation that the FMNBNP ‘padded’ the budgets of the impacted MDAs by introducing the in-issue projects make absolutely no sense.”

Zainab Ahmed pointed out that, ‘‘If the projects are under these MDAs’ budgets, the FMBNP cannot procure them because procurement can only be handled by the relevant MDAs.”

This was expressed by her during her testimony before the House Appropriations Committee.

Sadiya Farouq, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, criticised the Finance Ministry, which Zainab Ahmed heads, for adding N206 billion to the ministry’s budget when she testified before the Senate Committee on Special Duties on November 21, 2022.

Farouq said that the ministry requested projects for the Northeast Development Commission and the National Social Safety Net Project in the 2022 budget but was astonished to discover an inflated figure in the ministry’s 2023 budget.

As a result, the House asked the Zainab Ahmed, the finance minister to respond to six questions about the finances of several ministries, departments, and agencies.

The issues involved the National Social Safety Nets Project, which received N206,242,395,000 from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development; the refurbishment and procurement of Harris RF-5/7800 Military Communication Equipment, which cost N8,600,000,000; and the Safe Schools Initiative, which received N2,250,000,000 from the Ministry of Defence.

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Another is on the Second Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence for Development Impact Project, coded ERGP30180290, which will be financed by the World Bank and housed under the Federal Ministry of Education for a loan of $30 million (equivalence of N12,304,500,000 at an exchange rate of N410.15 to a dollar).

“The 2023 budget plan has been produced with the utmost sincerity of purpose and in accordance with established regulations and processes,” Zainab Ahmed stated in her presentation. There has been a lot of disinformation in the media during the last week about specific items in the N423.8bn budget for 2023. The majority of the expenditures are for international and bilateral loan-funded projects.”

According to Zainab Ahmed, “It is instructive that all of these now-controversial projects were included in the budgets of these MDAs, which were transmitted to the supervising ministries for evaluation and feedback on October 4, 2022, prior to the presentation to both the FEC and NASS.” Until these recent disputes, none of the affected MDAs had voiced any concerns about the projects with the FMFBNP.”

Zainab Ahmed said: “The current concerns would have been readily clarified between the individual MDAs and the FMFBNP had the impacted agencies followed the prescribed budget protocols,” the minister said. The proposed 2023 budget for each ministry was distributed for review and feedback, then presented to the Federal Executive Council before President Muhammadu Buhari submitted it to NASS.”

“Finally, let me clarify unequivocally that the allegation that the FMNBNP ‘padded’ the budgets of the impacted MDAs by introducing the in-issue projects make absolutely no sense,” Ahmed said. If the projects are under these MDAs’ budgets, the FMBNP cannot procure them because procurement can only be handled by the relevant MDAs,” Ahmed added.

However, Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, pointed out that Farouq did not accuse her finance ministry colleague of padding the budget, claiming that the media focused on senators’ statements during the session.

In his closing remarks, committee Chairman Aliyu Betara stated that the MPs were satisfied with the finance minister’s explanations.

While rejecting a move to summon Farouq, he remarked that the Minister of Defence, Major-General Bashir Magashi (retd. ), who had been summoned on the same issue, might not appear before the parliamentarians again.

Several committee members chastised Farouq for frequently ignoring summons from National Assembly committees, particularly those overseeing her ministry.

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