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The House of Representatives Committee on Solid Minerals on Friday sought details of the projects executed last year by the Ministry of Solid Minerals Development.
The committee made the demand during a meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mary Ogbe, who appeared before it to defend the 2024 budget implementation.
The Jonathan Gaza-led committee expressed displeasure over the inaccuracies in the Permanent Secretary's presentation and asked for a comprehensive report on the projects executed by the ministry to be submitted by Tuesday next week.
Gaza said, “We are expecting the budget, and until we know the true situation of the use of what you have been allocated in 2024, we cannot appropriate.
“We were very specific when we sent you the required documents. You must provide details of all projects, including budget code, budget item, amount appropriated, contractor, amount awarded, award dates, project status, performance percentage and lot number, etc.
“All these individual items should be included in this document in detail so that Nigerians know how the money that has been appropriated has been used.
“Do not provide us with incomplete documents again. Each line must be followed, and you must include advertisements made, contractors, and all relevant information. Even though it was before the Federal Executive Council, please include it in the comments section. Go and rework your documents and make a proper presentation. Let's give a comprehensive presentation,'' he said.
Earlier, the Permanent Secretary had said a total of N25.05bn was appropriated as expenditure outlay for the ministry in the 2024 budget.
“This includes N894.4m as overhead costs and N23.15bn as capital expenditure,” he said.
With regard to the amount appropriated to the ministry, he said that for overhead, the total appropriation was N895.44m, adding that as of October 31, qq 2024, the sum of N745.37m had been released. The balance as at October 31 stood at N149.07m. He said the percentage of release from appropriation for overhead was 83 percent.
“The ministry achieved 100 per cent utilisation, mainly of non-debt recurring expenditure, and the percentage of capital expenditure utilized till the end of October was 11 per cent. This is because the procurement process is still ongoing, and some are awaiting FEC approval. Under the bottom-up cash scheme, work must be executed before payment,” she concluded.
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