The Senate at its plenary session on Wednesday, 17thMay 2017 condemned the non-submission by some Statutory Corporations, of their 2017 Budget and described it as a violation of sections 21(1) (2) and (3) of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007, which states as follows:
“(1) The Government Corporations and Agencies and government owned companies listed in the Schedule to this Act (in this Act referred to as “the Corporations) shall, not later than 6 months from the commencement of this Act and for every three financial years thereafter and not later than the end of the second quarter of every year, cause to be prepared and submitted to the Minister,their Schedule estimates of revenue and expenditure for the next three financial years
(2) Each of the bodies referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall submit to the Minister not later than the end of August in each financial year:
(a) an annual budget derived from the estimates submitted in pursuance of subsection (1); and
(b) projected operating surplus which shall be prepared in line with acceptable accounting practices.
(3) The Minister shall cause the estimates submitted in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section to be attached as part of the draft Appropriation Bill to be submitted to the National Assembly”
Speaking on the matter in a motion titled ” Non-Submission of 2017 Budget by Public Corporation in violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act”, Senate Leader, Sen. Ahmad Lawan (APC: Yobe) stated that the non-compliance to the extant provisions amounted to an usurpation of the National Assembly’s powers. He described the act as “creating an economic sabotage” aimed at frustrating Federal Government ‘s measures to tackle the economic recession. Sen. Lawan further expressed concern over the failure of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission to ensure compliance in line with its mandate.
Following this submission, the Senate unanimously resolved accordingly to;
- Urge the President to submit the Budget of the omitted Corporations within 2 weeks to the National Assembly;
- Mandate the said Corporations to suspend further expenditure on estimates of the current fiscal year pending compliance with the FRA, 2007;
- Mandate its Committee on Finance to ensure that the resolutions of the Senate are adhered to.
The Corporations omitted from the 2017 budget details include the following;
- Nigerian NationalAgency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NNASEI)
- Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA)
- Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC)
- Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)
- Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC)
- National Sugar Development Council (NSDC)
- Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)
- Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC)
- Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)
- National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
- Nigerian Customs Service (NCS)
- National Broadcasting Commission (NBC)
- National Insurance Commission (NIC)
- News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
- Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC)
- Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)
- Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE)
- Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC)
- Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
- Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
- Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS)
- Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)
- Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
- Radio Nigeria
- Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)
- National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC)
- Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA)
- National Business and Technical Examination Board (NBTEB)
- Federal Mortgage Bank
- National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA)
- Industrial Training Fund (ITF)
- Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)
- Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON)
- Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority
