Reps committee fumes as Finance Minister abandons budget panel for economic summit

Last Updated: November 23, 2020By Tags: , ,

The House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, on Monday, fumed at the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, who sent a representative to budget defence in her stead.

The Committee chaired by Beni Lar had summoned the Minister over a reduction in the allocation to the Ministry of Science and Technology, however, the Minister instead attended the Nigerian Economic Summit.

The Minister instead, sent Alfred Okoh from the budget office to represent her.

Lar, in her address stated that committee wants to hear from the head of the ministry some “explanations and clarification on the budgeting process and system currently being used in Nigeria vis a vis the impact on the implementation of the 2021 Appropriation Act.”

She noted that the representative is not an adequate representation of the Ministry and rejected his appearance before the committee.

“This is not an adequate representation. We need the head of the ministry and the relevant agency, which in this case is the Budget Office,” Lar said.

The Director-General, Ben Akabueze was also not at the committee hearing but also sent a representative.

DailyPost