Committee of Representatives probes NESREA over additional budget expenditure of N1.25 billion naira
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives has kicked against the extra-budgetary expenditure of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Agency in 2019 which amounted to 1.25 billion naira without follow the due process of appropriation, describing them as illegal and unlawful. total violation of the law of the land.
The committee chained by Hon. Busayo Oluwole Oke therefore decided to investigate the additional budgetary expenditure to unravel the mystery behind the illegal act.
As a result, the Committee has therefore summoned the Chairs of the Senate and the House Committee on the Environment to appear before it to explain their role in the expenditure following the allegations by the Director General of the Agency, Professor Aliyu Jauro that the budget was approved. by the Committees.
Responding to a question from the Office of the Federation Auditor General before the Committee, the NESREA boss asserted that the Agency had a mandate from the National Assembly to spend its internally generated IGR revenue, insisting that the budget had been approved by lawmakers.
However, committee chairman Hon Oke said there was no evidence that the agency's budget was ever tabled in the House in plenary session, debated or approved by the House.
Oke has asked the committee clerk to write letters to the chairmen of the environment committees of both houses of the National Assembly inviting them to come and explain their role in reviewing and adopting the budget 2019 of NESREA without the budget being debated in plenary, such as the procedure provided for the adoption of the budget of the ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government (MDA).
Oke said both presidents would be asked for questioning because there was no evidence that the agency's appropriations for 2019 had been considered and passed in plenary or had gone through the legislative process mandatory first, second and third reading.
He pointed out that if it was established that the Speaker of the House of Representatives in charge of the environment and his Senate counterpart had reviewed and approved the 2.5 billion naira budget for the agency and the had authorized to spend its internally generated revenues in the budget, it would amount to Acts of Illegality and usurpation of the powers of the President because only he is authorized to approve the budget for the expenditure to begin.
According to him, "Based on the details available in the Agency's audited report submitted in 2019, there was no evidence that its budget had passed through the required legislative process of submitting its estimates by the Presidency; no evidence that it was received by the Legislature or that it was debated in plenary by the House before being handed over to the competent committees for the necessary checks before being compiled with those of other MDAs and sent to Mr. President for approval to become law.
“If so, then it comes down to the two chairmen of the NASS environmental committees sitting in the corners of their desks unilaterally approving NESREA’s budget and ordering the start of spending without the assent of Mr. President, which amounts to acts of illegality and gross insubordination.
Hon Oke also ordered that letters be written to the Secretary of the Federation Government, Boss Mustapha and the Clerk of the National Assembly, Ojo Olatunde to prove that there was correspondence between the executive and the legislature on the movement of the Agency's budget for the year under review.
He stressed the need to clean up the budget process and enshrine accountability in such an important document as the supply bill.
Oke, however, warned the heads of MDAs invited to answer questions about their annual financial statements, but refused to honor these invitations to refrain from dishonoring parliament.
He threatened to report these MDAs to the President on Development, telling him that his picks as GMs were not up to the task and were in fact undermining the President's confidence in their abilities to perform and would not hesitate to recommend their replacements.
READ ALSO IN NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
The Committee of Representatives probes NESREA… The Committee of Representatives probes NESREA…
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives has kicked against the extra-budgetary expenditure of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Agency in 2019 which amounted to 1.25 billion naira without follow the due process of appropriation, describing them as illegal and unlawful. total violation of the law of the land.
The committee chained by Hon. Busayo Oluwole Oke therefore decided to investigate the additional budgetary expenditure to unravel the mystery behind the illegal act.
As a result, the Committee has therefore summoned the Chairs of the Senate and the House Committee on the Environment to appear before it to explain their role in the expenditure following the allegations by the Director General of the Agency, Professor Aliyu Jauro that the budget was approved. by the Committees.
Responding to a question from the Office of the Federation Auditor General before the Committee, the NESREA boss asserted that the Agency had a mandate from the National Assembly to spend its internally generated IGR revenue, insisting that the budget had been approved by lawmakers.
However, committee chairman Hon Oke said there was no evidence that the agency's budget was ever tabled in the House in plenary session, debated or approved by the House.
Oke has asked the committee clerk to write letters to the chairmen of the environment committees of both houses of the National Assembly inviting them to come and explain their role in reviewing and adopting the budget 2019 of NESREA without the budget being debated in plenary, such as the procedure provided for the adoption of the budget of the ministries, departments and agencies of the federal government (MDA).
Oke said both presidents would be asked for questioning because there was no evidence that the agency's appropriations for 2019 had been considered and passed in plenary or had gone through the legislative process mandatory first, second and third reading.
He pointed out that if it was established that the Speaker of the House of Representatives in charge of the environment and his Senate counterpart had reviewed and approved the 2.5 billion naira budget for the agency and the had authorized to spend its internally generated revenues in the budget, it would amount to Acts of Illegality and usurpation of the powers of the President because only he is authorized to approve the budget for the expenditure to begin.
According to him, "Based on the details available in the Agency's audited report submitted in 2019, there was no evidence that its budget had passed through the required legislative process of submitting its estimates by the Presidency; no evidence that it was received by the Legislature or that it was debated in plenary by the House before being handed over to the competent committees for the necessary checks before being compiled with those of other MDAs and sent to Mr. President for approval to become law.
“If so, then it comes down to the two chairmen of the NASS environmental committees sitting in the corners of their desks unilaterally approving NESREA’s budget and ordering the start of spending without the assent of Mr. President, which amounts to acts of illegality and gross insubordination.
Hon Oke also ordered that letters be written to the Secretary of the Federation Government, Boss Mustapha and the Clerk of the National Assembly, Ojo Olatunde to prove that there was correspondence between the executive and the legislature on the movement of the Agency's budget for the year under review.
He stressed the need to clean up the budget process and enshrine accountability in such an important document as the supply bill.
Oke, however, warned the heads of MDAs invited to answer questions about their annual financial statements, but refused to honor these invitations to refrain from dishonoring parliament.
He threatened to report these MDAs to the President on Development, telling him that his picks as GMs were not up to the task and were in fact undermining the President's confidence in their abilities to perform and would not hesitate to recommend their replacements.
READ ALSO IN NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
The Committee of Representatives probes NESREA… The Committee of Representatives probes NESREA…
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