Senate Panel Queries Spending Of Ministry’s N177m IGR, Suspends Defence

The Senate Committee on Trade and Investment on Monday suspended the budget defence of the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment over what it described as vague documentation of N177m being the 20 per cent it retained from its 2021 internally generated revenue.

The decision of the committee followed the failure of the Department of Weights and Measures, a major revenue generating departments of the ministry, to furnish the committee with details of how the IGR between January and September was expended.

The Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar, told the Senator Saidu Alkali led- Committee that the Ministry projected to generate the sum of N1.6 bn in 2021.

She said N1.19 bn had already been realised between January and September from three revenue generating departments of the Ministry.

She said the Department of Weights and Measures generated N578m but that N177m was retained for its internal expenditure.

Not satisfied with the report, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Kola Balogun, expressed displeasure over the document presented by the Ministry.

He said, “These documents are not readable. It is very difficult for us to read it. It is also very difficult for us to make any sense out of it I think the Ministry should do better than this.”

He added that the revenue realised from the Department of Weights and Measures was slim.

He said, “N500m is too low from Weights and Measure. We were expecting that it should be tripled.”

A member of the Committee, Senator Yusuf Abubakar Yusuf, (APC, Taraba Central), said the document presented by the minister and her team clearly suggested that funds retained by the Department of Weights and Measures were not properly accounted for because they were not captured in figures.

He said, “You have a projection of N1.6bn. You realised N1.19bn.” He requested that the Department of Weights and Measures should furnish the Committee with details of how the money was utililsed.

He said, “It is not what they have spent. Do they have the appropriation for what they have spent.

“All these things are happening every year. Once they retained revenue, the just go and spend it without referring to the committee of appropriation.

The minister had earlier referred the Committee to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry to explain how the 20 per cent retention was utililsed.

However, the Permanent Secretary said she only resumed three months ago and could not furnish the committee with any useful information.

During the interrogation by the Committee both DFA and Director, Weights and Measures could not explain how and what exactly the money was used for.