The National Assembly has summoned the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Abubakar Bagudu, to clarify the Federal Government’s commitment to economic diversification, particularly through the solid minerals sector.
The Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committees on Solid Minerals raised concerns over the inadequate funding allocated to the Ministry of Solid Minerals in the proposed 2025 budget.
The ministers, along with the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr. Tanimu Yakubu, are expected to appear before the committees on Tuesday.
While summoning the ministers, the committee raised concerns over the paltry funding of the Ministry of Solid Minerals in the 2025 budget.
Edun, Bagudu are to appear before the committees on Tuesday in company with the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Tanimu Yakubu.
The committees, jointly chaired by Sen. Ekong Samson and Hon Gaza Jonathan, after the Minister of Solid Minerals, Mr Dele Alake, appeared before lawmakers on Monday to express the frustrations he had faced fighting hard to increase the budgetary allocations to the ministry without success.
Alake told the lawmakers that all his efforts could only get the ministry an initial envelope of N5billion.
“In fact, to let you know, the envelope we first received was N5 billion. I don’t know if you are aware of that. It was N5 billion” ,he informed the members.
Alake disclosed that when he stepped up mounting pressure on the ministers and the DG budget after President Bola Tinubu presented the estimates to the National Assembly, he was reassured that the allocation would be increased substantially only to be just N9bn.
“The Permanent Secretary is here and the night before the president came here, when we were working on the rehearsal of the budget speech, the Director of Budget came in and the Minister of Budget
and I took them up in the presence of the President. And what did they do? They promised that it would be done. So, again the following day, after the President’s presentation, we found N9billion”, he stated.
Speaking further on the frustrations he faced, Alake said, “There is no way that I can begin to tell you, except I have videos that I can show you of the several engagements that we had with the relevant budgetary authorities and individuals driving this process and at every turn we received very positive responses.
“Now, distinguished Senators and Honourable Members, when we had received very positive responses from those who are saddled with the responsibility of putting our budgets together, what else could we have done? There was no way we would rig their hands, and I don’t have the authority to compute the figures myself.”
When asked why his close relationship with President Tinubu didn’t translate to getting improved funding for his plans for the solid minerals sector, Alake replied that not everything he discussed with the President could be made public
Alake defended the President, arguing that he was not to blame for the funding challenges the ministry and its plans had suffered.
According to him, Tinubu is passionate about diversifying the economy, the reason it’s a cornerstone of his reform agenda.
He spoke more, “Many members here have rightly noted that yes, my relationship with the President should be counted upon, I agree in-toto but there are several things that cannot be said in the open. I cannot be divulging the conversations I have had with the President on this issue in the open.
“I am a manager of information and I have done that for over 40 years and I know how delicate information is. So, I give information on the-need-to-know basis or in private. So in short, the President is not unaware of our strides in the solid minerals’ sector.
“Every minute I am with him, apart from other issues that we discuss, or the assignments that he gives to me, I draw tales of solid minerals and we discuss all ratifications.
“I want to also emphasise, or maybe remind, distinguished Senators and honourable members, that if the President were not in tune or in sync with our vision, the diversification of the economy away from oil would not be a critical part of his programme of Renewed Agenda. It wouldn’t be. He coined it, he carved it.
“So, I want us to understand the fact that it is not because the President has not been intimated of the need for upward review that we are having this situation, not at all and this is not to absolve the President of anything. I am just laying bare the facts.”
Members of the committee mostly expressed surprise that a government that was committed to diversifying the economy did not make adequate budgetary provisions for solid materials development, one of the most important sectors that it could use to rival earning from the oil and gas industry.
Making his observations, Sen. Sampson noted that in other climes, solid minerals development was the mainstay of their economies as exemplified by the huge annual funding provisions for the sector.
He spoke more, “We have seen how some economies are being managed.
“If we don’t invest in solid minerals, how do we diversify our economy?
We have to diversify and we must do it masterfully.
“So, those concerned (Edun, Bagudu, Yakubu) have to appear before the joint committees to give us clear insights on what they intend to do).
Also speaking, Hon. Jonathan told the session that Nigeria appeared unprepared for economic diversification, which he said must come with a robust plan and a budget to accomplish it.
The committees later postponed the budget defence of the ministry till Tuesday to hear from the invited ministers and the DG, budget office before taking any further decisions.