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The House of Representatives has ordered the minister of
finance, Olusegun Aganga, to appear before it today to explain why funding for
capital projects has averaged only 30%, barely two months to the end of the
year.

The lawmakers said Mr. Aganga must offer the explanations before
general session of the House and not a specific committee as is usually the
case.

Ahead of elections next year, lawmakers desperate to showcase
their achievements to the electorate are complaining that the federal
government’s implementation of capital budget has again failed due to poor
funding by the ministry of finance.

“All road contracts from Bauchi to Owerri have been suspended
because the contractors have not been paid,” said Mohammed Ndume, the House
minority leader, who moved the motion yesterday.

“By the time our people ask which projects were attracted to our
areas, what are we going to say? These projects are not there, and if they are
there, they have been stopped and yet our salaries are not stopped. The
salaries of the presidency have not been stopped.”

Members said according to figures from offices in charge of
various projects, while funding for the huge recurrent expenditure which
annually saps federal revenues have remained atop 70%, those for the capital
projects stay between 10% and 30%.

Mr. Aganga is said to have confirmed the amount to the
lawmakers, acknowledging that N3.2 trillion has been released for recurrent
expenditure so far out of the total N4.6trillion budget.

“We here at the legislature, the executive and the presidency,
are the only ones affected by the releases so far,” Mr. Ndume said.

The figures sparked outrage amongst members who condemned
government’s low spending on developmental projects, and admitted that the
criticisms have become routine yearly.

The House voted to refuse approval for next year’s budget, until
the previous proposals have been satisfactorily executed.

“Since 2003 that I have been in this house, every year we complain
about budget implementation. Can the federal government tell us why we need to
bring this issue every year? Are we serving Nigeria or are we serving
ourselves?” asked Samson Positive, who represents Kogi State.

Falling federal revenue

At $67 per barrel of crude oil benchmark approved for this
year’s budget, and an unstable oil production in the Niger Delta, the federal
government has complained about a falling funding and has stated its difficulty
in implementing projects inserted into the budget by lawmakers during
appropriation.

In separate letters to the lawmakers, President Goodluck
Jonathan has argued for a revision of the benchmark and alternative sourcing of
funds. The chairman House committee of Finance, John Enoh, supported that claim
yesterday and staged a lone walk out after failing to dissuade his colleagues
from taking a hard-line position against the executive. He said based several
interactions with Mr. Aganga, his committee has confirmed that various revenues
targets of the FG have not been met.

“The daily oil production quotas have not been reached in spite
of the amnesty. It is expected that it will take a while for government to
fully reach benefit from the programme,” he said.

Current production is said to be at 2.25million barrels a day.

In approving the order to suspend further appropriations, and to
summon the Finance minister, the deputy speaker, Usman Nafada, said the
benchmark for the budget was reached after a petroleum minister, assured the
National Assembly that government can “comfortably” produce 2.35million barrels
a day against 2.4 million proposed by the lawmakers.

“For them to now come and say they cannot produce that is simply
unacceptable,” Mr. Nafada said. He said however, if there were shortfalls, the
over $15 differential currently derived as excess sales per barrel should cover
for the falling mark.

“Oil is selling now for over $80 per barrel that should take care of the
shortfall. If they cannot implement the capital, they should not implement the
recurrent, you should not pay salaries.”