The House of Representatives on Tuesday quizzed the FCT Minister of State, Mariya Bunkure for failing to defend the 2025 budget of area councils.

Chairman, House Committee on Area Councils and Ancillary Matters, Hon. Fred Agbedi stated this in Abuja during the FCT Area Councils budget.

Recall that the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike had last Wednesday, defended the proposed N1.78 trillion 2025 statutory budget of the FCT before the joint committees at the National Assembly complex.

Agbedi, clarified that the segments of the 2025 budget supervised by the FCT Minister of State were not covered in that presentation, as Wike had appeared before a different committee.

He said: ?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.

?You are the one mandated to defend the budget of these areas before this Committee. The Minister 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.?

Agbedi, therefore, 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,? he said.

In his intervention, Chairman, House Committee on Insurance and Actuarial Matters, Hon. Ahmad Jaha 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 defended the budget,? he 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,? Jaha added.

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,? he said.

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 2025 budget defence.

The committee granted her request and directed her to reappear on Monday, 2nd June 2025 for a proper budget session. (Nigerian Tribune)

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