Senate kicks against Niger Delta ministry budget

The Senate Committee on Niger Delta has rejected the 2020 Budget proposal of the Ministry.

The lawmakers individually expressed their disaffection over the removal of capital projects for 2019 in the budget and asked the duo of Senators Godswill Akpabio and Tayo Alasoadura, Minister of Niger Delta and Minister of State,  Niger Delta respectively to return to the Ministry, rework the budget and present it again for next Monday.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Niger Delta,   Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, said the Committee would no longer tolerate the era of abandoned projects in the Niger Delta region.

Senator Nwaoboshi who noted that President Muhammadu Buhari has not commissioned any project executed by the Ministry claimed that major stakeholders in the region: the host Communities, lawmakers among others, were not consulted prior to the preparation of the Appropriation Bill.

Senator Sandy Onor Ojang, (PDP, Cross River Central)  dismissed the budget as an empty document without capital releases.

He lamented that the serious business of budget defence has been reduced to a mere circus show by the Executive arm of government.

“I just want to speak my mind on what I see. They are issues that are so topical, glaring and objective that we sit as leaders and elected representatives of the people.

“We just look at your presentation and we are faced again with the vanity of having a budget and almost through the budget year, there are no capital releases. We cannot begin to see as if it is all beautiful. We can’t even be accused of cynicism speaking as Nigerians who have been elected to the Senate. It calls for concern and deep worry.

“In a budget situation where the capital outlay is even lower than personnel and another cost is an issue. But to speak of a situation where nothing is released for capital is a tragedy. We are worried. We just came from another Committee on Navy and even for them as strategic as they are, we had the same concerns there.

“So I am very worried and I think that it defies party affiliations, emotions and so on. It is something for which we should stand up as a Legislature on this side and even as the executive. We must work together. A budget is not just a piece of paper or something theoretical.

“It must have a practical basis. So I think that this year, we should work together all of us, all of us – in the interest of our country to make sure that this budget is truly a budget. If not it becomes a ritual to have us come and sit here.

“When there are no capital releases, what are we really talking about? So I am worried and I do hope that if we make excuses that last year we were distracted by elections, which is not even a proper excuse to make, I do hope that this year there would be funding so that our country can indeed move forward.

“We seem to be running around in gyrations, that is the reality. That is the truth and it is not meant to be an indictment on anybody, it is just the state of affairs as it is and we must speak to it so that we move forward. We are all challenged in this country to do so.”

Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South said the budget was designed to fail and joined his colleagues to demand that “the budget should be taken back and reworked for another day”.

In his contribution, Senator George Sekibo, representing  Rivers East accused those in the leadership of the ministry of lack of focus and said the mission behind the creation of the special ministry for the oil-producing Niger Delta region has been bastardised.

He accused the ministry of engaging in minor projects like contract award for solar which he noted were better handled by local and state government while the East-West road was abandoned.

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” I don’t see actually any budget for 2020 for the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs. It pleased me when on September 8, 2010, the then President now late (Umaru Musa Yar’Adua) announced the creation of this ministry, it brought a major relief for the people of Niger Delta area.

“At that time the East-West Road the minister mentioned was one of the Presidential emergency projects. They are six in the country. That of Niger Delta – the East-West road was removed and domiciled in the ministry of Niger Delta. To me, that was to be a priority, but the ministry since inception – 2008 till now I am sure it is over 10 years – could not complete that project.

“And then we keep on asking questions, why, why why? Now I have an interest in the 2019 budget before I come to 2020. If you look at item 198, 194, 199, 200 to 2005, if you have a sum of money that is over N25billion and one of the major problems in the region is that road and then just only on one item, they included N5billion.

“I would just mention one of them: Constitution of East-West road section this Port Harcourt to Eket 20million. Construction of East-West road Section 4, Eket to Oron, 21 kilometres, N20million.

“I  don’t know what that one actually meant. You see, we are creating another problem that is now engulfing Niger Delta Development Commission. Well, we are lucky as the Minister said that the President has removed that project from the ministry to another area for intervention.

“If you look at their budget – N10million, N20million. Are they repeating what the state governments and local governments are doing? For God’s sake, how will a ministry go down to a place and do a job of N52million? It is embarrassing.

“This ministry needs to undertake chunk projects. If it is a regional specialist hospital and that is what they can achieve in a year, they have done something. It is not to erect solar street light. Solar light for what? What is the ministry doing? What is NDDC doing? What are the state governments doing? How can they now distinguish themselves? What would you say you have achieved 10 years after the establishment of the Ministry. To me, I think it is a major disappointment.

“If I have the money, I will give it to you for the main project and then let’s start afresh. You are going to Cross River state from Port Harcourt, one small portion that is not up to about 2kilometre, will keep you for four hours and then they are talking about solar light. I think it is a failed budget.”

Earlier in his presentation of the ministry’s budget, Senator Godswill Akpabio revealed that nothing has so far been released by the Ministry of Finance of the N14.1 Billion Capital budget of 2019.

Speaking with newsmen after his session with the Senate Committee, Senator Akpabio pleaded for the intervention of the Committee to seek an audience with the Minister of Finance, his counterpart in Budget and National Planning to increase the 2020 budget of the ministry and also fast track release of fund.

“The budget was not rejected,  the Senators feel that there ought to be the completion of major projects that are already in the Niger Delta. I agree with them but unfortunately, we are working under a very tight envelope and the ministry was allocated the sum of about N23 billion and 60 per cent of it will go to already existing projects in the region and so 40 per cent will go to probably new projects in the region.

“So if you look at it very well it is not possible for you to capture all projects with that amount and it is not even going to be possible to complete even 10 kilometres of road in the region. So I think instead of saying that the budget was rejected, I think that the distinguished senators should collectively make an appeal to the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning to improve upon the envelope to expand it a little so it can capture at least substantially most of the yearnings and aspirations of  the good people of the Niger Delta. And taking cognisance of already outstanding projects that were conceptualised since 2016, 2015, 2018 which yet to be paid for.

“Again, there is nothing we could have done about the budget based on the fact that we are yet to receive even one naira for the capital project for 2019 that is still being processed in the ministry of finance, budget and national planning.

“We have explained to them (Senate) that yes indeed,  once the capital release is made, it will fund part of the budget head-on until then we have no option than to roll them over in the 2020 budget.

“They have given us till Monday, we will go and work with the Ministry of Finance to see whether it is possible to have capital released for this year.”

His colleague,  Senator Alasoadura, however, faulted the stance of the lawmakers as he said it was not practicable for all projects to be captured.

“I think we should also note that if we are to capture all the projects that our colleagues have asked us to capture we will be allocating very paltry amount of money to all the projects and at the end of the day it will not make sense and it will not favour anybody and it will be a budget designed to fail like one of the senators said.

“If we have 300 projects and you have money that can capture only 150 why put everything there and allocate a small amount of money that will not make any difference at the end of the day. So we had chosen very carefully based on need, based on good spread etc.”