The National Assembly Joint Committee on Finance has expressed dissatisfaction over the failure of several revenue-generating government agencies to attend their scheduled 2025 budget defence sessions.
The committee has issued a 48-hour ultimatum for the agencies to appear before it, warning that failure to comply could result in the withdrawal of funding for their 2025 operations.
Agencies Under Scrutiny
The affected agencies include:
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA)
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)
Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
Nigerian Postal Service (NPS)
Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC)
Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)
Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON)
Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund)
Oil and Gas Free Zones Authority (OGFZA)
National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC)
Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC)
National Insurance Commission (NICOM)
National Pensions Commission (PENCOM)
National Space Research and Development Agency (NSRDA)
Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet)
Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC)
Nigerian Airspace Management Authority (NAMA)
Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB)
Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG)
Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)
The committee emphasized that the budget defence process is a critical component of ensuring fiscal accountability and efficiency in revenue generation and expenditure. The absence of these agencies, it stated, undermines the integrity of the process and poses challenges to the timely approval of the 2025 budget.
The ultimatum serves as a strong reminder of the National Assembly’s commitment to holding public agencies accountable and ensuring transparency in the use of public funds.
