Business
By Victoria Frances
WAZIRI Adio, the founder and executive director of the Agora Policy think tank,
is concerned about some provisions in the proposed 2025 budget of the federal government.
Adio expressed his concern in his column in THISDAY on Sunday, December 30, describing
some of the budgetary provisions as “curious.”
According to him. “One glaring example is the plan to transfer **N146** billion to the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) as counterpart funding for the Lagos Green Line Metro Rail Phase 1. This raises several questions: The proposed allocation for the metro line within a state comprises 65% of the capital budget and 57% of the entire budget of the Ministry of Transport,” he wrote.
“If this is counterpart funding from a recapitalized MOFI, why is the money coming from the budget of a federal ministry? Why can’t MOFI raise its counterpart funding from the market? How was the decision made that this is a project worthy of federal investment, and will such funding be available to other states outside of Lagos?”
He said that many proposals “do not pass the muster of necessity, regeneration, or even transparency.
“Why do we propose to spend **N238** billion on a hospital for the Nigeria Intelligence Agency (NIA) while the capital budget for the entire Ministry of Health and Social Welfare is **N653** billion? Why do we need to allocate N50 billion for capital supplementation for a building for the FIRS, an agency that receives 4% as the cost of collection and likely has a budget of about half a trillion Naira? Additionally, how do we justify having **N761** billion as a one-line item for Special Projects?”
Raising questions about the funding sources for the presidential jet and the Lagos-Calabar coastal road, Adio said: “I have searched unsuccessfully for two items in the current budget documents, as I did in previous main and supplementary budgets: the funding for the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the purchase of the presidential jet.
“Perhaps these items are hidden somewhere I have not yet discovered, or maybe they are presented in a way that is not immediately apparent. Anyone who has seen them is welcome to share.”
“My interest in these matters is not about the utility, urgency, or even the cost of these items. I focus on them for two reasons. First, citizens deserve to know how their common wealth is being spent and the processes followed to ensure proper value for money. These matters should not be left to speculation or gossip.
“Second, no public money should be spent without proper appropriation and accountability in a democracy. We are not under an absolute monarchy where the king owns all and can act at will. Beyond the concern for the sanctity of the budgeting process, there are higher values at stake, such as transparency, accountability, and democratic stewardship.
“These higher values currently seem to be lost on those constitutionally bestowed with the power of the purse and oversight. However, as citizens, we must not lose sight of these principles. We are citizens, not subjects, and we must ask pointed questions of those in power and insist that they do better.”
30th December, 2024.
C.E.
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