The House of Representatives has warned Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) or any representative of the federal government against signing cluttered deals that affect the country.
The Chairman, House Committee on Finance, James Faleke, stated this in his remark at an interactive session with agencies on the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (2024-2026 MTEF/FSP) yesterday.
He said: “The $ 11 billion P&ID fiasco is still fresh in our minds, where the whole country was almost held hostage to a fraudulent agreement.
“Another agreement signed on behalf of the government by NBET and Azura Power has committed payments of over $30m per month.”
He said the interactive session with the agencies and stakeholders on government finances was to ensure the passage of the MTEF/FSP before the presentation of the 2024 annual budget.
The committee chairman said, even in light of the revenue shortfalls, the federal government is still losing revenue from various waivers and exemptions granted to various organisations.
He said, “In 2024, the Budget Office has estimated a loss in revenue of over N2.7 trillion.”
He said these shortfalls in government revenue have caused the government to operate a deficit budget over the years leading to both domestic and foreign borrowing to implement the expenditures as planned.
