- We Need N126bn, Mahmood Yakubu Tells N’ Assembly
- NASS Pledges To Boost INEC’s Budget To Meet Electoral Needs
- N’ Assembly Kicks As Solid Minerals Ministry Gets Paltry N9bn From N541bn Proposal
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has kicked against the N40bn provision made for it in the 2025 budget proposals.
This is even as the electoral body disclosed that the N40 billion proposed by the federal government as the INEC budget for 2025 would not be enough to fund its operations for the year.
Consequently, the body asked the national assembly to increase its 2025 budgetary allocation to N126 billion.
Mahmood Yakubu, chairman of the electoral umpire, spoke on Friday when he appeared before the Joint Committee Of The Senate And House Of Representatives on INEC to defend the commission’s 2025 budget.
“Our proposal for the 2025 budget—the provision requires the sum of over N126 billion,” he said.
“We have the document that has provided details, line-by-line details, on how we intend to spend the N126 billion.
“We would like the support of the national assembly to enable us to achieve our responsibilities in the first line charge, and most of these responsibilities are constitutional.
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“In a nutshell, the N40 billion budget envelope given to us for 2025 will not cover one-third of projected expenses, which amounts to over N126 billion.
“Aside from the off-cycle elections for 21 constituencies to be filled through bye-elections and the Anambra governorship election this year, personnel costs alone on account of the new minimum wage will gulp the N40 billion budgetary envelope.”
The INEC chairman said the electoral umpire requested intervention funds of N10.5 billion for the Edo and Ondo off-cycle elections and N500 million for bye-elections in 2024 due to the “poor” budgetary allocation to the commission.
The committee members promised to increase the budget of the commission to meet the needs of the electoral body.
Ireti Kingibe, senator representing FCT, said INEC’s demand is necessary for optimal operation but expressed concerns over the source of funding.
After contributions by lawmakers, the committee dissolved into an executive session with the INEC chairman and national commissioners.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly Joint Committee on Solid Minerals, on Friday, rejected the budget estimates of the Ministry of Solid Minerals.
The committee noted that the estimates presented were greatly inadequate.
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The Chairman of the joint committee, Ekong Sampson, stated this after the Minister, Dele Alake, presented the ministry’s 2025 budget estimate before the committee.
The call for the rejection of the budget followed a motion moved by Diket Plang (APC-Plateau) and seconded by Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan (PDP-Kogi), both senators.
Moving the motion, Mr Plang expressed displeasure that the ministry got just N9 billion out of the N539.7 billion it proposed for capital expenditure in the 2025 budget.
The chairman also expressed great displeasure over the ministry’s budget because of the importance of solid minerals sector to the diversification of the Nigerian economy.
“This is because of the potential in not addressing the key concerns in this sector at a time when Nigeria is in a grand need to diversify the economy.
“The estimates presented before us are grossly inadequate and will not help our economy at this critical period, when we have to invest in the future, consistent with what obtains in other economies.
“We’ve taken this position in the interest of this country and as a support item to the vision of government as it were that this budget clearly needs a review.
“The need for this review clearly contemplates the peculiarities in the sector.
“Time has gone by and you have to take a very bold step in exploration, in data gathering, in tackling major drawbacks that have put us in dire situations as a nation richly endowed but faced, as it were with the contradictions in abundance.
“It is the view of the joint committee that the budget of this sector be reviewed upwards.
“I think that is the spirit of the meeting, in the meantime, we will suspend further decisions on this budget unless those steps are taken.
“The budget for this sector needs radical upward review. So the joint session rejects the estimate before us. We will step everything down,” he said.
The co-chairman, Gaza Gbefwi, representing Keffi/Karu/Kokona Federal Constituency, also supported the move for the suspension of the budget defence.
“I move that we suspend this budget screening for the Ministry of Solid Minerals for the fact that what is appropriated to them, if it is true, is beyond imagination.
“Also, we are here to pass a budget not for the ministry, not for us, but for Nigerians and the progress of this country.
“I, therefore, propose that we step down this screening of the budget presented to us and request that we invite the Minister of Planning and Budget to appear before this committee,” he said.
Earlier, the minister, Dele Alake, said that the ministry in 2025, proposed N539.7 billion for capital expenditure and N2 billion for overhead cost, making it a total budget of N541.7 billion for the ministry.
“In contrite distinction to the avowed objective of the economic diversification of Nigeria away from oil into green energy, into harnessing the solid minerals sector, the envelope that the ministry received was a far cry from our proposal.
“We proposed N539.7 billion for capital in 2025, but the envelope that came is a paltry N9 billion,” he said.
On the 2024 budget performance of the ministry, Mr Alake said that the overhead cost was 100 per cent performance while the capital was a dismal 18 per cent performance which was based on releases.
“When I did a panoramic view of the entire budget from other ministries, it is a kind of a general problem.
“The budget releases were not as expected which really hampered the capital budget in 2024.
“We rely on your support and effort to correct this anomaly, because if we are going to achieve all our objectives, there is no way we can achieve them,” he said.
In terms of revenue generated, Mr Alake said that the ministry generated N37.8 billion in 2024, more than the N11 billion projected.
