Reps query NOSDRA over poor budgeting

House of Representatives Committee on Environment, yesterday, queried the management of the National Oil Spill and Detection Agency (NOSDRA) for its poor budgeting standards.

Chairman of the committee, Hon. Uche Ekwunife, gave the damning verdict when officials of the agency appeared before the committee to defend its 2015 budget proposals.

While chiding the agency for presenting a budget proposal she described as being poorly prepared, the lawmaker recalled that agency had made the same allocation for a particular item and under the same sub-head in a three-

year budget cycle.

The committee chairperson further said that based on what was presented as the agency’s 2015 budget, it was clear that the 2014 budget of the agency was not implemented to the letter.

She also questioned the N4 million projected by the agency as its internally generated revenue for 2015, adding that the revenue projection showed that the management of the agency was not serious about revenue generation.

Members of the House committee took their turn to pick loopholes in the

agency’s budget for the year 2012, 2013 and 2014, with the lawmakers accusing the agency of embarking on expenditures that were not appropriated by the National Assembly.

Hon. Sekonte Davies (APC /Rivers) while querying the budget, said”I don’t understand why releases were made quarterly but you distribute your expenditure sub-heads evenly”.

Also, Hon. Eddie Mbadiwe said “all the figures are the same everywhere. I want to align myself with the previous speakers that the agency should go and rework the budget”.

Responding to the queries by the committee members, Director-General of the agency, Mr. Peter Bagio, pleaded with the committee for the agency to make the necessary adjustments to the budget proposal. He declared that the agency was not given sufficient time to

prepare its 2015 budget proposals.