Reps faults interior ministry over budget duplication
The House of Representatives Committee on Interior on Thursday queried the duplication of computers and some other line items in the 2018 budget of the Ministry of Interior.
The House committee discovered the duplication when officials of the ministry appeared before it to defend the budget proposals of the parent ministry and some of its agencies.
The lawmakers raised the alarm when the ministry’s officials presented a line item of computers, office stationeries, newspapers and printing of security and non-security documents in their budget for approval.
However, the lawmakers during the defence of the budget picked holes with the line item of computers in the budget estimates, declaring that it had a recurring decimal in the budget.
According to the Minister of Interior, Lt. Gen Abdulrahman Danbazzau (rtd), the ministry has close to N400,000 outstanding liabilities on overhead cost in its previous budgets.
He informed the lawmakers that it got to a point when the ministry’s supplier of gasoline refused to supply it due to huge amount he was being owed.
Read more at-2018 budget: 43% capital allocation for cars, computers, furniture, others
On the budget, the ministry had presented for approval, a total of N360,890.000319.00 as overhead cost for the ministry and its agencies for 2018 and N1,64,866,499.00 for capital budget.
A breakdown shows that N29.5m is set aside for local travels, N18.8m for international travels, N18.8m for office stationeries and N2.8 million for printing of non-security documents.
Moreover, N16m was set aside for clearing and fumigation; N16m is for legal services; N5.2m for publicity and adverts and N5.2m is for publicity and adverts while N4.5m is for meals.
The Committee Chairman Hon Jagaba Adams Jagaba however, queried the rationale behind the procurement of computers by the ministry annually.
Jagaba and other lawmakers who demanded for the receipts for the purchase of computers by the ministry officials said that he is invoking his veto powers under the law, adding that the ministry will not be allocated any amount for the purchase of computers in its 2018 budget.
