5 hours ago
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ABUJA – The House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals has called for a comprehensive report on all projects undertaken by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development over the past year.
The Committee, chaired by Hon. Gbewfi Jonathan Gaza, expressed its displeasure with the discrepancies in the presentation made by the Permanent Secretary. In light of this, the Committee resolved that all relevant documents pertaining to the Ministry’s executed projects be submitted before next Tuesday.
Additionally, the Committee raised concerns over the Ministry’s failure to include several key projects in its presentation.
Gaza stated, “We are awaiting the budget, and without a clear understanding of how the allocated funds for 2024 have been utilized, we cannot proceed with appropriations.”We were thorough when we sent you the required documents. It is essential that you provide detailed information on all projects, including budget codes, budget items, the amounts appropriated, the contractors involved, the amounts awarded, the dates of award, the current status of the projects, performance percentages, and lot numbers, among other relevant details.”
“It is essential that every item be thoroughly documented in this report so that Nigerians can clearly understand how the allocated funds have been spent.Several projects were conspicuously absent from the presentation to the Committee, and there was no explanation provided for their omission.”
“Do not submit any incomplete documents again. Every detail must be thoroughly followed. Please ensure to provide the advertisement that was issued, along with the codes for the contractors and all relevant information. If it was done prior to the FEC meeting, kindly indicate that in the remarks section. Go back and revise your documents, ensuring they are properly prepared.
We expect a comprehensive and well-structured submission,” he stated.
In the 2024 budget, the Ministry was allocated a total expenditure of N25.05 billion.
This amount is broken down into N894.4 million for overhead costs and N23.15 billion for capital expenditure.
The personnel cost for the Ministry, however, is not included in this allocation as it is still captured under the Ministry of Steel Development for 2024.
This is due to the fact that the personnel separation process has not yet been fully completed.
Regarding the appropriation releases to the Ministry, she provided the following breakdown:
For overhead costs, the total appropriation stands at N895,441,335. As of October 31, 2024, N745,367,779 has been released, leaving a balance of N149,073,555.
This represents 83% of the total overhead appropriation, with a full 100% performance on the released amount, as expenditures match the releases.
On capital appropriation, the total amount allocated is N23,150,884,863, of which N2,724,818,977 has been released.
This accounts for 11% of the total appropriation, with a 100% performance on the released amount as well.
“The Ministry has successfully utilized 100 percent of its non-debt recurrent expenditure as of the end of October. However, the capital expenditure utilization stands at 11 percent.
“This is due to ongoing procurement processes, with some projects still awaiting approval from the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“Under the bottom-up cash plan, work must be completed before payments are made,” she explained.
