Members of the House of Representatives committee on commerce has faulted the transfer of N14 billion meant for the Nigerian Export Zone Authority (NEPZA) by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah.
Thelawmakers also stepped down the consideration of critical aspects of the Ministry’s budget until “Enelamah appears in person to explain the 2018 expenditure and 2019 budget estimates.”
Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce, Sylvester Ogbaga (PDP, Ebonyi), disclosed this during the 2019 budget defence by the Ministry, which held in Abuja yesterday without Enelamah, after three previous postponements.
Ogbaga said the Committee was not satisfied with explanations given on the NEPZA fund by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Sunday Edet, who represented Enelamah.
He said the lawmakers were shocked that whereas the government had fulfilled its 25 per cent financial obligation of N14 billion in the supposedly Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, the concerned private firm was yet to fulfil its 75 per cent stake.
The Committee also criticised the Ministry’s
recruitment of over 100 new staff without approval; the spending of N250 million on meetings and inspections in 2018 as well as the allocation of N250 million for negotiation in the 2019 budget estimates.
“As a result, the Committee requests that the Minister appear in person with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), shareholding structure and methods of operation of the firms involved in the NEPZA arrangement.
“The Minister will also provide details, as well as names of officers captured for the 2018 travels and negotiations,” the chairman said.
The lawmakers also wondered why the Ministry have kept allocating funds for computers and buses every year, as well as commissioning the country’s trade development policy to consultants for millions of naira despite having enough, capable personnel.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary, Mr. Edet, had told the lawmakers that the N14 billion NEPZA fund and the involvement of the private sector, was an initiative of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), saying the money had been transferred by the Ministry of Finance.
He added that under the zero budgeting arrangement, negotiations and programmes, such as the Made In Nigeria Campaign, were captured under the recurrent expenditure.
