House of Reps rejects budgets of four federal agencies

The House of Representatives rejected the 2021 budget of four agencies under the Federal Ministry of Health on Monday.

The House accused them of failing to provide records of the 25 percent remittances of their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, as provided by extant laws, The Nations said.

Chairman of the House Committee on Healthcare Services, Yusuf Tanko Sununu, announced this at the resumed hearing of budget defense of agencies under the ministry.

The lawmaker said it was important for revenue-generating agencies of government to remit the correct amount of their IGR (which is 25 per cent), as stipulated by extant laws, into government coffers, reports The Nations.

The agencies whose 2021 budgets were rejected are: Medical Science Laboratory Council of Nigeria, Radiographers Registration Council of Nigeria, the Nigeria Pharmaceutical Research Institute (NIPRI) and Community Health Practitioners Registration Board.

The House Committee gave the Nursing and Midwifery Registration Council and the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, a clean bill of health.

It turned back the Dental and Medical Council of Nigeria due to the absence of its chief executive.

Sununu emphasised President Muhammadu Buhari’s directive that the Legislature must assist the Executive in compelling MDAs to remit their IGR, adding that it was only through such remittances that government could effectively finance the 2021 budget.

He said: “Let’s also try to emphasise that revenues generated by MDAs are supposed to be remitted to the Federal Government in their right percentage.

“With that, the amount of revenue needed to finance the budget every year will be drastically reduced. That is if all revenue generating MDAs remit what’s due to government in all honesty and truth, and as and when due.

“So, this committee will do its due diligence in looking at the revenues of agencies under our purview and ensure that the right amount is remitted before consideration for their 2021 budget proposals.”

The Registrar and CEO of Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria, Dr. Tosan Erhabor, angered the lawmakers when he said the council’s IGR was used to offset the running cost.

The lawmakers reminded him that such action contradicted the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Erhabor said: “The sum of N136 million was generated so far this year, but we are unable to remit the 25 per cent, as laid down by the rules, due to COVID-19, which led to putting on hold our inspection and accreditation of training courses from where more money comes in.”

The agency chief expressed optimism that something tangible could still be done before the end of the year.

He stressed that if not for the calibration pit that was not in place, Nigeria would have been able to test for COVID-19.

Angry members of the committee said despite COVID-19, the shortfall in revenue generation should not have been across board, as the Registrar reported.

The committee chairman noted that the agency, though hampered by COVID-19, should still have generated more revenue beyond what it got.

Sununu said: “Apart from inspection and accreditation, weren’t there any other services to private organisations that generated funds?

“Because you are an agency, that’s really short of N20 million remittances to the Federal Government.”

He directed that “the registrar liaise with the deputy chairman on Friday by providing evidence of remittances to the Federal Government”.