Bauchi Central senator, Abdul Ningi, on Thursday queried the economic team of the federal government over failure to explain how proceeds from the removal of fuel subsidy was expended last year.
Mr Ningi, a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), challenged the government officials when they appeared before the Senate Committee on Appropriations to defend budgetary allocations of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government.
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President Bola Tinubu announced the removal of fuel subsidy on 29 May, 2023 during his inauguration.
The removal of subsidy and the floating of naira policy have led to hardship in the country following rising costs of goods and services.
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Many have protested against the policies and demanded immediate reversal, but the government insisted they would eventually benefit Nigerians.
PREMIUM TIMES had reported that the federal government pays an average of N501.47 as subsidy on each litre of petrol, in at least eight cities
But the government repeatedly denied it.
During Thursday’s budget defence, the Bauchi senator asked the economic team led by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to disclose the status of the fuel subsidy.
He also demanded an explanation on the actual status of Nigeria’s foreign debt servicing.
“We haven’t heard from the minister how much has been saved from the removal of fuel subsidy and how much has been expended,
“We also haven’t heard from the minister about the debt servicing. How much have we actually used to service our debt in 2024? How much are we expecting to service the debt in 2025,” he said.
Mr Ningi also complained about the poor performance of the 2024 budget, especially the implementation of capital projects across the country.
He specifically asked whether the federal government would achieve all proposed capital projects in the 2024 budget before its expiration in June.
“Finally, will the minister of finance guarantee that the extension of the capital component of the 2024 budget to June 30, 2025 will give the desired results in terms of implementation that has a very low percentage now,” the senator asked.
Responding, Mr Edun requested that the senators should discuss the questions privately.
“Are we in a closed door session? If we are not in a closed door session , I will humbly seek for that for detailed explanations on the questions asked,” the minister pleaded.
Thereafter, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Adeola Olamilekan, directed the committee members to go into closed-door session to discuss the issues.
The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, was also present during the budget defence.
