Senate Summons Okonjo-Iweala Over ‘Unimplementable’ 2013 Budget

The Senate has summoned the coordinating minister for the economy and minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to defend reported statements credited to the minister of state for finance, Dr Yerima Ngama, that the 2013 budget was over-bloated and practically unimplementable.

Okonjo-Iweala is also to defend the level of implementation of the 2013 budget.

The Senate mandated its Committee on Finance and Appropriation to find out the reason behind the decline in revenue generation and report back to the plenary in three weeks.

These were fallouts of a motion raised by Senate Deputy Leader Abdul Ningi (Bauchi/PDP) and 13 other Senators yesterday entitled, “2013 Budget and Alleged Over-bloated Revenue Estimates.”

According to Senator Ningi, “The utterances of the Minster of State for Finance, which is clearly targeted to blackmail the National Assembly, considering all the revenue variables are within the target expectations and such unguarded pronouncements is capable of sending serious negative signals to the Nigerian citizens and indeed the international community”.

Meanwhile, an investigative panel set up by the House of Representatives to investigate the status of National Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Itakpe and Delta Steel Company to the Indian company, Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited (GINL) has summoned the minister of justice and attorney general of the federation, Mohammed Adoke, to appear before it to brief it on the state of the projects.

Read more: http://kaaf.com/2013/09/Senate-Summons-OkonjoIweala-Over-Unimplementable-2013-Budget-438729