Budget Defence: Ministry, Agencies reviews 2024, outlines ’25 projections
By Tom Okpe
The Federal Ministry of Environment and its agencies have urged the House of Representatives to increase their budgetary allocations for 2025, while reviewing it’s 2024 allocation.
The Ministry, alongside its agencies, the National Park Service, Environmental Health Council of Nigeria, EHCON, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA, and the Forest Research Institute of Nigeria, FRIN, reviewed their 2024 performance, outlining projections for 2025.
This took place at the 2025 budget Defence, House of Representatives, National Assembly, Abuja on Friday before the Committee on
Environment.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Mahmud Kambari, highlighted the Ministry’s achievements’, emphasizing that inadequate funding remains a critical challenge.
Ibrahim Goni, the Conservator General of the National Park Service, reported that, 2024 expenditures stands at ₦4.33 billion for personnel, ₦1.03 billion for overheads, and ₦1.95 billion for capital projects, with ₦633.46 million disbursed and utilized.
He appealed for a ₦5.01 billion intervention in 2025 to address funding gaps, insecurity, and illegal mining. The Agency also projected ₦180 million on Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, for 2025.
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Similarly, FRIN’s Director-General, Zacharia Yaduma, requested increased funding, citing budgetary constraints and delays in fund disbursement.
Dr. Mohammed Baba, Registrar and CEO of EHCON, raised concerns about the Council’s removal from budgetary allocations as of January 1, 2025, and appealed for its reinstatement.
Responding, the Committee Chairman, Rep Julius Pondi, assured that the Committee would work closely with the Minister of Environment to address EHCON’s funding concerns.
