The House has resolved to investigate the procurement of capital projects by Ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), Parastatal and Institutions of the federal government and recover withheld sums from the execution.
The House also mandated its Committees on Financial Crimes, Public Service Matters and Public Procurements to carry out the investigation and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved at the plenary on Thursday by Representative, Kelechi Nwogu.
Presenting the motion, Nwogu said that Section 81 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) provides that “the President shall cause to be prepared and laid before each house of the National Assembly at any time in each financial year, estimates of the revenue and expenditure of the Federation for the next following financial year.”
He explained that Section 81(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) provides that “the heads of expenditures contained in the estimates (other than expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation by this Constitution), shall be included in a Bill, to be known as Appropriation Bill, providing for the issue from the Consolidated Revenue of the sums necessary to meet that expenditure and the appropriation of those sums for the purposes specified therein”.
Nwogu noted that Heads of all federal government MDAs, Parastatal and Institutions are summoned to the National Assembly for Examination and Validation of their budgetary proposals before passage and Presidential Assent.
He pointed out that no adjustment to the estimates contained in the Appropriation Act shall be made without recourse to the National Assembly, according to the law.
The lawmaker observed that a majority of government ministries, Departments, Agencies (MDAs), Parastatal and Institutions allegedly award contracts that are below the amount provided for the execution of the Capital component of the Appropriation Act.
He expressed worry that the National Assembly has not been provided with information on withheld funds from federal government agencies, causing project procurement reductions to negatively impact project completion and Contractor’s abandonment or requests for variation of the initial cost;
Nwogu decried that the National Assembly’s powers, as provided in Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution as amended are being undermined by the actions of the MDAs, Parastatals and Institutions.
The House resolved: “Mandate the Committees on Financial Crimes, Public Service Matters and Public Procurements to investigate the procurement of Capital Projects by MDAs, Parastatal and Institutions of the Federal Governments to recover withheld sums from the execution and report back within four weeks for further legislative action.”
