By Obinna Chima, 12.03.2010
As the controversy on the exact budgetary overheads of the federal legislature continues to rage, THISDAY investigations have revealed that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was right in his assessment that the National Assembly accounts for the 25 percent of total federal government overheads of 536.27 billion.

Documents obtained from the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper forwarded to the National Assembly and accompanied by a letter signed by President Goodluck Jonathan last September, revealed that the total federal government overhead budget for 2010 is 536.27 billion, of which the overhead budget of the National Assembly is 136,159,768.12.

These were the same figures quoted by Sanusi during the lecture at the Igbinedion University last weekend that generated the ruckus from the National Assembly and the subsequent attempt by the Senate Committees on Appropri-ation, Finance, Banking and MDGs to downplay the National Assembly’s overheads relative to the federal government’s overhead budget.

The committees had summoned Sanusi and the Finance Minster, Dr. Olusegun Aganga last Wednesday to clarify the statement on the lawmakers’recurrent expenditure budget.

During the hearing, Sanusi bluntly stood his ground and refused to apologise over the statement, which he readily acknowledged was made by him that the National Assembly accounts for 25 per cent of the Federal Government’s total overhead budget.

Even after Aganga, who shockingly denied a statement credited to him when he said a committee would be set up to review funds allocated to the National Assembly, faulted Sanusi’s figures, the CBN governor insisted that the figures he quoted last weekend at the Igbinedion University were the same obtained from the Budget Office, which handles all budgetary issues.

“I confirm that 25 per cent of total overheads of the nation goes to the National Assembly,” he said.On his part, Aganga, who was the first to testify at the public hearing, told the senators: “I have never made any statement to the effect that I was in the process of cutting the expenditure of the National Assembly or the national budget.

“I don’t know why I was invited; it wasn’t clear to me. I have not and I did not and would not make any statement to anybody in the media that I believe could be so misconstrued.”He said: “As public figures, we get quoted out of context every time, so we must be careful what we say and how we say it,” he said.

Further findings also confirmed from the Ministry of Finance’s website that there was no ambiguity on what constitutes the exact definition of overheads.

In a publication posted on its website titled “A Citizen’s Guide to Understanding the 2009 Federal Budget”, it was explicitly captured in Part A under General Issues, the components of Recurrent Expenditure.
Overheads as contained in the document are basically costs such as payment for electricity, water, telecommunications, office rent, office equipment and consumables, staff training, transportation, etc.

Analysts are of the opinion that NASS should have done its homework first before engaging in the drama that led to the hot exchange between members of the Committee and the CBN Governor.

The role of the Finance Minister, Olusegun Aganga in the entire saga has been considered unwholesome in view of the fact that the MTEF document forwarded by the president to the NASS last September originated from the Ministry of Finance.
Most members of the public, including commentators were surprised that Aganga sat on the fence when confronted by the committees on the issue.

Sources at the ministry confirmed that the minister was in a binder over the development and he is alleged to have sent another version of the computation to the National Assembly, ostensibly to exonerate himself and align this with the views of the members of the committees.

http://thisdayonline.info/nview.php?id=189176

Aganga is a rabid t wat.
with all his overseas training, he is a coward and can't stand for the truth.
There you go on matters of integrity. A minister of finance playing politics with the fortune of the nation just because he fears losing his job. If we may ask him, what then is he doing if not the same as the rogue members of the national assembly. This current assembly will continue to hold down Nigeria nation\'s progress unless a miracle comes. Minister Agangan, what else do you want in life?
Sanusi is a real man.

Aganga is RUBBISH. He did to Remi Babalola and he has attempted it with Sanusi!
Yet he is supposed to be a technocrat - he is getting ahead of Adedibu in politics

Sanusi - stand firm!
Let us craft a slogan - who is eating 25% of the cake?
25 percenters!
N136b for 500people!

the apparent discrepancy is now being blamed on the so-called 'service-wide votes' which is about N660b

the lawmakers claim SLS didn't factor it in --which they claim he should have--while computing his 25% figure. had he done that, FG overhead would be 536+660=1.2t, bringing the NASS share to about 11% of the total.

Aganga is a weak chickling just trying to make clean pay.

That's why he nod his head like fowl whenever they tell him to go to IMF and borrow money to expand the budget for election year, then he comes and tell us the fiscal expansion is aimed at growth.

I can't understand Aganga's craven behaviour here. As an ex-Goldman Sachs banker, he shouldn't be fearful of losing his ministerial position when he can easily get another job.

Analysts are of the opinion that NASS should have done its homework first before engaging in the drama that led to the hot exchange between members of the Committee and the CBN Governor.

When did professional pepper-soupers start doing their homework? That expectation is too weighty for them.

and where are the leaders of the Nigerian Labor congress?. . .shouldn't Nigerians be staging a demonstration?

Why has nigeria wages commission kept quiet over the salaries and allowances of these overfed and lazy law makers in NASS