The National Assembly committees will tomorrow continue with the scrutiny of the 2020 N10.33 trillion budget with some ministers
and heads of federal agencies appearing before some of the committees to defend
the budget estimates for their Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).
The federal assembly, as part of programmes line up
for the consideration of the budget, will next Wednesday and Thursday hold a
public hearing on the 2020 Appropriation Bill.
The MDAs' budget defence, which commenced last
Wednesday will resume today with the Defence Ministry concluding its three-day
submission before the Senate committee on Defence headed by former Governor of
Sokoto State, Senator Aliyu Wammako, in Senate committee room 120 by 11a.m.
The Defence Ministry top officials led by the
Minister, Major General Bashir Magasi (rtd), had in the course of its budget
defence since last Wednesday, stressed the need to adequately fund the ministry
because of the security challenges facing the country, and the need for the
military to rise up to the task.
Sources told journalists that the joint National
Assembly committee on Defence was told by the Defence Minister and the three
service chiefs that if adequate funds are made available to the three services
namely: Army, Navy and Air Force, the security challenges, especially the issue
of Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east region, wuld become a thing of the
past.
A ranking senator from the Northeast, who spoke on
condition of anonymity, told reporters that "today's meeting by the
committee with the military chiefs is to look critically at the issue of
funding as well as the high level of insecurity in the country and the role of
the military in addressing the issue."
He stated that at the end of the meeting
"the joint committee will make necessary recommendation especially in the
area of insufficient funding of the military to the joint National Assembly Committee
on Appropriation that will vet it before presenting it to the Assembly next
month."
Also today, the Senate Committee on Education (basic
and secondary) headed by former Governor of Yobe State, Senator Ibrahim Geidam,
will hold a two-day budget defence session with the Minister of Education and
heads of education parastatals to defend the budget proposal of the ministry in
the Senate conference room 022 by 11a.m. today and Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the acting Chairman of the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, will tomorrow appear
before the Senator Suleiman Kwari-led Senate Committee on Anti-corruption and
Financial Crimes to defend the Commission's 2020 budget estimate by 12 noon in
Senate conference room 231.
By Wednesday, the National Assembly is scheduled to hold a public
hearing on the 2020 Appropriation Bill with all stakeholders in both the public
and private sectors being invited to make inputs into the budget proposal
presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari on October 8.
The session slated for 10a.m. in the Senate
conference room 231 to be presided over by the Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Appropriation, Senator Barau Jibrin, will have in attendance the Chairman of
the National Assembly, who is the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon
Femi Gbajabiamila; all the16 principal officers of the National Assembly, ministers,
captains of industry, labour leaders, market leaders, students among others.
The Appropriation Committee will at the end of the
public hearing collate contributions from the stakeholders to form part of
their report to the two chambers of the National Assembly next month.
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