Sanitation and hygiene facilities worth N212,248,819 would be constructed in the North-East to improve the quality of lives of internally displaced persons (IDPs), in the region, the ministry of water resources has proposed to the national assembly.
The new budget line was part of the ministry’s Economic Recovery Growth Plan (ERGP) of the federal government captured in the ERGP2811130 code of the 2022 appropriation document before the legislature.
It is exclusive of another initiative by the ministries for the IDPs tagged ERGP 28111152 described as WASH emergency coordination, assessment and response in the IDPs and North East for the sum of N29,027,868.
The ministry also noted that it would expend the sum of N401,675,665 on WASH intervention in universities, polytechnics and all other tertiary institutions in the country.
Officers of the ministry, in the accounts department, have variously budgeted curious amounts for the implementation of the National Water Resource Master Plan, which has been an ongoing project in the past five years.
In its proposal for the 2021 fiscal year revealed an ERGP30124770 for the Implementation of National Water Resource Management, an ongoing initiative for the sum of N31,261,688.
Tribune Online spotted the budget proposal of the ministry and noticed that while the budget was made for the “National Water Resource Master Plan,” the ministry also made other budgetary provisions for “Water sector Roadmap Implementation” each, bore its amount for expenditure.
This varied budget line totalled N31,500,000 in the 2017 fiscal year; N38,675,000 in the 2018 fiscal year and doubled to N68,884,672 in the 2019 fiscal year, this amount, was exclusive of the year’s N22,438,004 for the ERGP30124764 with the budget line Implementation Support for Integrated Water Resources Management in the Water sector and Implementation of Water sector Roadmap ”
One curious thing about this provision was its variant vote from “ERPG 28111624 WATER SECTOR ROADMAP IMPLEMENTATION ONGOING at N1,570,660 to N67,314,012 for swapping the term to “IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL WATER RESOURCE MASTER PLAN.”
The explanation for these budget line would be made to the national assembly legislators, in the Senate, the committee on water resources had Senator, Mandiya Bello as its Chairman, while Senator Christopher Ekpenyong is his Vice-Chairman.
The Chairman of the water resources committee in the House of Representatives is Hon. Sada Sodi, the committee in the lower chamber has Hon. Bukola Oyewo.
These four legislators would lead the teams of legislators in both chamber to oversight the ministry of water resources during the budget defence session where the Minister of water resources, Engr. Suleiman Hassan Adamu would lead the management team in defence of the budget.
For the year 2021, the amount for both the Implementation Support for Integrated Water Resources Management in the Water sector cost the Nigerian taxpayers, N31,426,474. N10,606,619 and N20,819,855 respectively.
Tribune Online further inquiry on the budget document showed that the ministry of water resources had proposed for expenditure in the coming year, if approved the sum of N12.2 million for support to the United Nations World Water Day in Nigeria.
Another expenditure for a new budget initiative was the expenditure for the United Nations World Rivers Day in Nigeria with an amount of N8,000,000.
Celebration of Water Day cost Nigeria the sum of N10,500,000 2017 with the code FMOWR39808357 and dropped to N8,925,000 in 2018 changing from the code FMOWR to ERGP28111727 listed as Celebration of World Water Day.
Tribune Online also came across a curious budget line that has cost the nation about N32,937,762 for over six years in the effort of the ministry to identify water body for concession.
Noted as “Identification of viable water resources projects for concession, the ministry of water resources expended the sums of FMOWR17907782 at N7,000,000 in 2017 appropriation act.
Converted to ERPG initiative in the 2018 fiscal year, the budget dropped with about 20% and costed the nation M5,950,000 to identify viable water resources project that could be concession outside the ministry.
The amount almost tripples in the 2019 budget, the ERGP 30111575 rose to N18,847,923 but dipped to N7,139,039 in the proposed budget before the national assembly for its consideration and passage for presidential assent.
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