Senate President Godswill Akpabio has issued a stern call to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, urging him to dismiss any head of a government agency who refuses to attend National Assembly committee invitations.
The directive was made during the opening of a public hearing on the 2024–2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) at the Senate. The hearing aimed to scrutinize the fiscal document, involving chief executives of government-owned agencies to enhance the national revenue base.
Akpabio emphasized that the absence of any invited agency head discussing the federal government’s economic blueprint deems them unfit for their role and warrants dismissal.
He asserted that commitment to the success of President Tinubu’s administration requires active participation in such crucial discussions, making it clear that non-compliance would have consequences.
He said, “Chairman should give me the list of all the heads of agencies that you invited who have failed to show up in this session.
“This is the beginning of their failure in their various offices. Therefore, I am happy to see the chairman of FIRS, he is here. I have also seen the DG NIMASA and others.
“Any head of agency that sends representation here is not a serious person, and therefore the President must take a second look at such a person’s appointment; it is not a threat but the truth.
“I shelved even my appointment to appear in Owerri today for our final rally of my party and all other schedules that I have, to make sure that I appear so that we can strategise on how we can succeed.”
The approved MTEF/FSP will set out the parameters upon which the next year’s budget will be prepared.
In the MTEF/FSP, the federal government pegged the price of crude oil at $73.96, the exchange rate at N700/$, oil production at 1.78 million barrels per day, debt service of N8.25 trillion, inflation at 21 percent, and GDP growth at 3.76 percent.
The aggregate expenditure is estimated at N26.01 trillion for the 2024 budget, which includes statutory transfers of N1.3 trillion, non-debt recurrent expenditure of N10.26 trillion, debt service estimated at N8.25 trillion, as well as N7.78 trillion being provided for personnel and pension costs.
