The House of Representatives Committee on Area Councils and Ancillary Matters has insisted that the Minister of State for the FCT, Mariya Bunkure, must defend the budget under her purview.
The committee headed by Fredrick Agbedi (PDP, Bayelsa) made this declaration when it met with Minister Bunkure on Tuesday.
At the session, the minister, who was summoned on Monday claimed that she did not anticipate a separate appearance, since the substantive minister, Nyesom Wike had defended the budget before a joint committee of the Senate and House.
Agbedi stated that only Bunkure is responsible for defending the budgets of the departments and agencies under her supervision, emphasising that Wike’s appearance did not extend to those areas.
“The areas the president assigned to you are also under our oversight. It is only you who can speak to their budget performance and projections. That is why you are expected to appear before this committee.”
Agbedi explained that “You are the one mandated to defend the budget of these areas before this committee. The Minister [Wike] oversees jurisdictions under the FCT Committee, which does not include your departments. We, however, have oversight over your area of responsibility.
“When we carried out our oversight functions, it was not on the responsibilities of the Minister. We need to know what was appropriated to you, how it was spent, what challenges were encountered, and what provisions to make for 2025. Therefore, when you appeared with the Minister before the FCT Committee, our committee was not involved.
“These are two separate and distinct committees with different mandates and membership. It is your responsibility to budget for, execute, and oversee the agencies and departments under your jurisdiction, and then interface with this committee.”
He warned that if the committee’s process is not properly followed, the House may be misled into approving a budget that has not undergone the necessary legislative scrutiny.
“It is only this committee that can consider and recommend your budget to the House for final passage. You must appear with the relevant agencies under your purview to defend their budget before us.”
Also speaking, Ahmad Jaha (APC, Borno), reiterated that from their perspective, the FCT is yet to fully defend its 2025 budget.
“No member of this committee was present at the session where the Minister [Wike] defended the budget,” Jaha said.
He added that the committee was prepared for a thorough review and asked the Minister to propose a convenient date for her appearance.
“We are giving you the privilege to suggest a convenient time so we can check our schedule. It’s going to take at least two or three days. This time around, it won’t be business as usual. We will go through each department, scrutinize their performance and projections—one after the other.”
Jaha also warned that any delay in her reappearance could lead to serious consequences for the budget’s approval process.
“If you fail to adhere to the agreed date, it won’t be our fault if your budget approval is delayed, possibly into December.”
Another lawmaker cautioned that the House would not take responsibility for any illegal expenditure.
“The law prohibits spending money that has not been appropriated. If these agencies and councils don’t receive budgetary approval, they won’t be able to function. We cannot be held accountable for that.”
When asked to disclose the total sum proposed under her supervision, Dr. Bunkure was unable to provide an exact figure. She requested additional time to compile the relevant data from the departments and agencies she oversees.
Earlier, she apologised for failing to honour the committee’s initial invitation, attributing her absence to the short notice given.
She appealed to the committee for more time to adequately prepare for the budget defence.
The committee granted her request and directed her to reappear on Monday, June 2, for a proper budget session.
