President Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday forwarded the 2016 budget proposal of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM)and other 37 Federal Government agencies to the National Assembly for consideration and passage into law.
The President said the action was informed by the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, which provides that the budgets of the agencies should be collated and forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and approval.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, read the presidential letter forwarding the agencies’ budget proposal to senators on Tuesday.
Most of the listed agencies had been flouting the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act in the yearly operations.
The list contained mostly revenue generating agencies including the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Customs Service and Nigeria Port Authority (NPA).
Others were – Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), National Agencies for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASEI), Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), National Maritime Authority (NMA), Raw Materials Research and Development Council ( RMRDC), National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), Nigerian Postal Service (NPS), Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Also listed were – Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA), National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB), Federal Mortgage Board (FMB), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority.
President Buhari asked the lawmakers to note that in line with the provisions of the Act, budget of the agencies and corporations which have been privatised or otherwise seized to exist were not included in the list.