By Aaron Ossai and Disun Amosun
The House of Representatives Committee on Finance has directed some Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government, MDAs to provide details of their budget performances in order to ascertain their level of compliance with extant financial laws.
They include the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Agency (ICRC), the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) the Nigeria Sugar Development Commission (NSDC) among others.
The directive was given when the agencies appeared before the Committee at its resumed interactive session being held by the Committee with key agencies on budget performance.
The ICRC was directed by the Committee to provide details of all concessionaires and the fees charged since 2008, after a presentation by the Director Infrastructure of the agency, Shehu Sani Danmusa who represented the Director General (DG), Dr. Jobson Ewalefoh.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. James Faleke and members who picked holes in the presentation especially the breakdown of revenue and expenditures said, there is need for the agency to present a comprehensive detail as required by standard accounting and financial practices.
In his submission, the Chairman, NERC, Sunusi Garba who also presented the income and expenditure of the agency’s 2023 and 2024 informed the Committee that, the main sources of revenue of the agency is the Electricity market.
“The law provides that we prepare a budget and take just enough from the electricity market to fund our operation. Meaning that the amount we take from the market depends on the budget that we prepare.
“So in the early days of the commission, when the market was a little bit immature, the commission was taking money from the market and the federal appropriation. But in the last, I think one, two years or even three years, the commission has been 100% dependent on the workings of the market for our revenues”, he said.
However, Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Faleke interjected saying, “You take just enough? What is just enough? So how much do you take? We want to determine your revenue.Yes, so. So when you say just enough, it’s not a figure”.
The NERC Chairman replied saying that, financially, as a regulatory institution, the NERC is not designed to be a revenue-generating agency which Hon. Faleke disagreed because the agency is supposed to be self funded which the chairman answered in the affirmative.
“Yes. Are there rules? Who is the DFA? Are you the DFA? Where is the DFA? Okay. Are there rules guiding self-funded agencies in terms of deductions, in terms of remittances’, he added.
The Director Finance and Administration of the agency, explained that, the law establishing the commission provides that 80% of the operating surplus at the end of the year should be transferred to consolidated revenue,
Hon. Faleke said, “So how do we determine operating surplus if we don’t know your income? It’s not that I don’t know. I’m just saying that.You are trying to hide it. Remember, you said you take just enough.”
“So, I mean, that’s my own area of concern. Okay, why don’t we say.If you can give us the figure. For example, all of us sitting here, we operate in the same market. We are like your customers.But we are more or less directly your customers, kay, We pay through your service providers”, he said.
After the presentation, the Committee directed that, the NERC also submits all the details of its revenues, expenditures as well as invoices to industry players on energy purchases and reconciliations.
Similarly, the Committee also picked holes in the expenditures of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) over its frivolous spendings on non-essential like foreign travels, office renovations while neglecting core responsibilities to develop the Sugar sector.
In his presentation, the Director General (DG), NSDC, Kamal Bakari in his presentation informed that, the organisation is being funded principally by the Sugar Levy and other revenues.
