2023 Budget: HOR rejects foreign affairs 2023 budget; Summon Finance Minister, reject AUGF’s office figures

The House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs has resolved not to consider the 2023 budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until it complies fully with the 2022 Appropriation Act.

The Chairman of the committee Hon. Yakub Buba (APC-Adamawa) revealed the position of the House at a 2023 budget defence session on Wednesday in Abuja.

He said that the ministry must direct all Nigerian missions to abide by Section 10 of the 2022 Appropriations Act (as Amended).

Buba said that the section empowers the mission to spend its capital expenditures without approval from the ministry.

The chairman said that the committee had written the ministry to observe the law but the ministry has continued to prevent the mission from spending allocated funds.

“We have called the attention of the Minister to this Act, but he has continued to direct the missions not to obey this law in spite of receiving about four letters on the issue, including the latest one of Sept. 6,” he said.

The lawmaker explained that Section 7 of the 2022 Appropriation Act states that all unspent funds shall be returned to the federation account at the end of the fiscal year except where waivers are given by the National Assembly.

“In total disregard for the above, the ministry has continued to direct missions to retain and spend monies in their capital accounts without any waivers from the National Assembly.

“It is important to note that this committee has continued to draw the attention of the ministry to the above-noted infractions, but all to no avail,” he said.

He said that the National Assembly is ahead of the 2023 budget in respect to targeted revenues from administrative charges at the missions and embassies.

The lawmaker said that the ministry should furnish the committee with the list of unspent funds under the capital component of the missions’ allocations for the necessary waivers of the National Assembly.

In a related development, the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has summoned the Minister of finance, Zainab Ahmed; the Director-General, the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze; and others to explain why the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation is undermined in the preparation of the budget for his office.

The Chairman of the Committee, Oluwole Oke stated this while rejecting the 2023 budget proposal of the AuGF’s office.

The committee was furious that only 62 million nairas has been budgeted for the AuGF’s office as against the 2.5 billion nairas initially proposed.

Lawmakers question how the auditor general, Adolphus Aghughu, can effectively audit government agencies with such a budget.