SENATE DECRIES PERFORMANCE OF N1.5TR SOCIAL INVESTMENT SCHEME
SENATE DECRIES PERFORMANCE OF N1.5TR SOCIAL INVESTMENT SCHEME
Members of the Nigerian Senate PHOTO: TWITTER/ NIGERIAN
SENATE
• Queries N800m NIWA security vote in 2018 budget
• Kaduna Reps back rejection of El-Rufai’s loan request
• Kaduna Reps back rejection of El-Rufai’s loan request
The Senate yesterday
expressed dissatisfaction with the implementation of the Federal Government’s
N1.5 trillion National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and described it as a
failure.
It lamented that the
programme has not made serious impact on Nigerians. Consequently, the
Senate threatened to cut budgetary allocation for the scheme.
Funds for NSIP are
captured under the Service Wide Vote for the presidency.
The Chairman, Senate
Committee on Appropriation, Mohammed Danjuma Goje, made the threat when the
Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment, Mrs. Maryam Uwais,
appeared before the panel to provide clarification on proposed budget
implementation.
The presidential aide
told the committee that NSIP received N175 billion in 2016 and 2017 fiscal
year.
“You may kindly
recall that N500 billion was appropriated for the NSIP in 2017, out of which
N100 billion was allocated for the Social Housing Scheme under the Federal
Ministry of Finance. Out of the balance of N400 billion, only N90 billion was
released to the NSIP for 2017.”
She also said that
the programme received N85 billion in 2016. Goje, who stressed the importance
of the programme, noted that by the end of three years, the NSIP would have
handled an unprecedented sum of N1.5 trillion.
“Many people are
complaining that they have not seen the impact of the programme, considering
the magnitude of the funds involved. I am from Gombe State, I represent Gombe
Central. I am yet to see one boy who came to tell me that he has benefited from
your N500 billion.
“Many other Nigerians
are saying the same thing. N500 billion for 36 states is about N13 billion. If
you spend N13 billion in one year in Gombe State, there is no way I would not
have known, other people will also know.
“If you spend N500
billion in one year in Nigeria, Nigerians will know. No single All Progressives
Congress (APC) person in Gombe State has benefitted from your School Feeding
Programme. No single person from Gombe State has benefitted from your N-Power.
We don’t know about your N-Power. As far as many of us are concerned, we are
completely dissatisfied with what you are doing.”
Goje also said that
there was no indication that N100 billion was deducted from source for the social
housing scheme by the Ministry of Finance. “Senate does not know about N100
billion going for housing scheme. The money is given to you for social
investment.”
Mrs. Uwais insisted
that “unfortunately, N100 billion is deducted at source for housing scheme by
the Federal Ministry of Finance.”
The budget defence
almost degenerated into a shouting match between the lawmakers and Uwais.
A member of the
committee, Tayo Alasuadura, said they foresaw the problem at the beginning of
the programme.
“Those of us who
approve the budget, we don’t know what is happening. We should know what is
happening in our constituencies.
“You have spent N85
billion this year. You spent N90 billion in the first year 2016 making it N175
billion. A programme that has been on for two years, and I don’t know what is
happening. It is terrible. The governors you say are also complaining did not
allocate money for this programme. We did.”
Alasuadura said that
the programme should be scrapped if its implementation would continue to be a
source of worry.
Goje intervened and insisted that his interest was for the programme to succeed “because I am also APC. We called you because you are handling big money. N500 billion is half a trillion. Unfortunately most Nigerians do not know what you are doing. Your publicity is zero. Most importantly, the people who are approving the money do not also know what you are doing.
Goje intervened and insisted that his interest was for the programme to succeed “because I am also APC. We called you because you are handling big money. N500 billion is half a trillion. Unfortunately most Nigerians do not know what you are doing. Your publicity is zero. Most importantly, the people who are approving the money do not also know what you are doing.
“We have asked you to
give us detailed report on what you are doing. If we get the report, we will
know whether to give you N500 billion.
“In 2017, we
appropriated N500 billion. In 2018, we will appropriate according to
performance. We are going out of our way to make this programme to succeed. We
are not against it, we want it to succeed.”
Senator Francis
Alimekhena warned that if care was not taken, the programme would go the way of
SURE-P.
He said the NSIP should not use a World Bank template in the country because it would not work.
He said the NSIP should not use a World Bank template in the country because it would not work.
The committee asked
the presidential aide to submit names of beneficiaries of its programme today
for its verification. The lawmakers said the names became necessary to ensure
that the money was not going into wrong hands.
Also yesterday, the
Senate queried the N800 million which the presidency proposed in the 2018
budget for the purchase of security equipment by the Nigeria Inland
Waterways Authority (NIWA).
The query was handed
down to NIWA Acting Managing Director, Danladi Ibrahim, when he appeared before
the panel on Marine Transport to defend the agency’s 2018 budget.
The committee
wondered why the authority requested N800 million in the 2018 budget for the
purchase of security equipment, the same amount it received in 2017 budget for
the same purpose.
It said that out of
the N800 million, the authority spent N790 million in 2017 which is over 90 per
cent of the appropriated fund.
The Chairman of the
committee, Ahmed Sani Yerima, observed that the authority failed to provide
details and specifications of how it planned to spend the money for which it
requested approval.
Meanwhile, the House
of Representatives lawmakers from Kaduna State have expressed support for the
decision by the Senate to reject the $350 million foreign loan requested by
Governor Nasir el-Rufai, saying there was no time they endorsed the proposal.
Besides, the
lawmakers who issued a statement to condemn an attempt by Governor El-Rufai to
over-burden the state and the indigenes with foreign debts, said there was no
time they condemned the decision of the Senate in rejecting the loan request.
According to the
lawmakers: “Our attention has been drawn to stories making the rounds in some
national dailies, television stations and social media alleging that 15 members
of the House of Representatives from Kaduna State have faulted the Senate’s
disapproval of a $350 million World Bank loan requested by the Kaduna State
Government.
“The news said that
the Leader of the Kaduna State House of Representatives caucus, Datti Babawo
(representing Sabon-Gari Federal Constituency, Kaduna State), stated that all
the 15 members out of 16 actually approved the $350 million loan for the state
because of the enormous benefits the state would derive from it.