Reps fume as FG borrows N5.62trn to fund 2022 budget deficit

The House of Representatives has expressed displeasure over the way some government agencies conceal their revenues, thereby denying the Federal Government the fund for budgeting.

The House criticises the way the country resorts to borrowing N5.62 trillion to finance deficit in the 2022 budget, while these agencies starve the government of fund.

Chairman, House Committee on Finance, James Faleke, made this known at the ongoing public hearing on the 2022/2024 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) on Thursday in Abuja.

“We are not happy the way Nigeria is borrowing N5.62 trillion and we have some fund somewhere staying fallow without being used.

“For God sake, let us build this country together for the sake of all of us,’’ he said.

Faleke said that the major problem facing the country was revenue generation, adding that the House of Reps would be more interested in how much government agencies could save.

He said that if the House of Reps discovered that any of the government agencies’ capital projects were unnecessary, they would be removed in a bid to get revenue for the country.

The committee also directed the Nigeria Communication Commission to provide the turnover of amount realised from all network operators from 2018 to 2020.

Faleke said that this would enable the committee to look at their records and be able to determine if the revenue proposal for 2022 to 2024 would be good for the country.

Some of the agencies invited for the 2022 to 2024 MTEF and FSP public hearing are Nigeria Port Authority, Nigeria Communication Commission, Nigeria Copyright Commission, Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission.

Others are Nigeria Metrology Agency, Nigeria Postal Service, Federal Road Safety Corps, Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Nigeria Communication Satellite Ltd. among others.

Mr Emeka Iseogwu, the General Manager, Finance, who represented the Director-General of NPA, said that the agency was on course in terms of revenue generation.

He said that NPA was targeting N338 billion for revenue in 2022. (NAN)