Senate Probes Zero Capital Allocation For Hajj Commission

The Senate Standing Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs has vowed to investigate why the Federal Government decided not to allocate money for capital projects in the 2016 Budget of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON).

The vice chairman of the committee, Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, disclosed this during an oversight visit to the commission’s headquarters in Abuja yesterday.

The committee said the probe becomes necessary with a view to addressing concerns and observations raised by NAHCON, adding that it would also immediately write to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), seeking explanation into the matter.

Earlier, chairman of the commission, Alhaji Abdullahi Mukhtar, while giving the highlights of the commission’s budget performance, revealed that no fund was appropriated for NAHCON to execute capital expenditure in 2016 Budget along other costs. “The present challenge facing the commission at present is office accommodation. As at today the present office being occupied by the commission’s head office is a rented apartment.

and funding of the rent along with the zonal offices rent is not being adequately provided for in the overhead appropriation. Proposal for construction of commission’s permanent site in Abuja was not captured in 2016 Appropriation Act,” Mukhtar said.