The House of Representatives has debunked allegations of budget padding and budget delay made against it by Executive Director, Projects (EDP) of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Cairo Ojougboh.
Mr Ojougboh had made the allegations on The Morning Show, a programme on ARISE NEWS television on Monday.
He stated that unknown to the National Assembly and other members of the Committee on NDDC in both Senate and the House of Representatives, the two chairmen, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi and Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, “raised and vandalised” the commission’s 2019 budget.
However, in its reaction, the spokesperson of the House, Benjamin Kalu, said the NDDC director made spurious and defamatory claims. Mr Kalu, who issued a statement on Tuesday stated that the claims by Dr Ojougboh that the House of Representatives delayed passage of the 2019 NDDC budget are simply untrue.
“… In reality, it has been the House pushing the Commission to do the needful and render account to the Nigerian people.”
He added that the NDDC delayed in submitting its budget as mandated by Section 18(1) of the NDDC (Establishment) Act.
“(The Act) mandates the Commission to not later than 30 September in each year, submit to the National Assembly, its budget estimates for the following year. The House recalls that for more than 13 months after the time required by law, the Commission deliberately failed to submit its 2019 budget to the National Assembly for approval, choosing instead to engage in illegal and unauthorized spending to the tune of billions of naira.”
“The Commission was only able to return with their budget performance report on February 5, 2020, following which the House passed the 2019 budget 3 weeks after (February 27, 2020).”
The House stated that the negligence or deliberate mischief of the Commission has also frustrated all efforts by the National Assembly to expeditiously approve the Commission’s 2020 budget.
“We recall that on April 28 and May 12, 2020, the National Assembly sent joint reminders to the Commission requesting copies of the 2019 budget performance report to enable it consider the Commission’s 2020 budget.
“Unfortunately, in a reply dated May 13, 2020, the Commission cited the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for their failure to provide their 2019 performance report. This is curiously ironic considering that despite the pandemic, they have been able to access their offices to spend monies, handle sharing of palliatives, make payments in billions of Naira and undertake transfers, promotions and suspensions of public officers, etc. Therefore, till date, the Commission has refused to render an account of their 2019 budget expenditures to Nigerians,” the statement read.
Speaking on Mr Ojougboh’s claims that the House of Representatives “vandalized and raped” the 2019 budget by adding N85bn Naira, Mr Kalu said the allegations are not only false but “paint a rather disturbing image of the Executive Director’s emotional state as well as his relationship with facts and reality.”
“Contrary to the allegations of padding, the House recalls instead, that it was forced to cut down the budget estimates from N409bn to N345bn when it was discovered that the Commission’s projected expenditures were unrealistic, having exceeded their revenue source by N63bn.”
More so, the spokesperson of the green chamber, explained that the insinuations by Dr Ojougboh that the House of Representatives is against the ongoing forensic audit of the Commission are untrue and misleading.
According to him, the House has always expressed its total support for the forensic audit ordered by the President.
“This is further evidenced by the fact that it was the House at Committee level which added a provision for the forensic audit in the 2019 budget after discovering that the Commission’s original budget estimates failed to include a line for the forensic audit.”
“Echoing the sentiments of Nigerians, our only concern is as to the propriety of the appointment or supervision of the forensic auditors and also to ensure that any auditing process is done in accordance with the Constitution. The House insists that a supervision of the auditing process by the IMC or any other subjects of the audit, defeats the cardinal principle of natural justice, nemo judex in causa sua (no-one is judge in his own cause) and undermines the integrity of the investigation,” Mr Kalu stated.
