2021 Budget: Reps Chide gov’t agency for proposing N1m for headquarters building

The House of Representatives committee on health services has chided Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN) for proposing a little over N1 million in its 2021 budget proposal for its headquarters building in Abuja. Chairman and members of the committee derided the Director General (DG) of the Institute, Aliyu Angara, who presented the budget […]

The House of Representatives committee on health services has chided Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN) for proposing a little over N1 million in its 2021 budget proposal for its headquarters building in Abuja.

Chairman and members of the committee derided the Director General (DG) of the Institute, Aliyu Angara, who presented the budget proposal before the committee on Tuesday.

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Speaking, Chairman of the committee, Rep. Tanko Sununu, said the Institute has only succeeded in ridiculing Nigeria as a country.

He warned that budget is a constitutional matter that should be taken very seriously.

Sununu noted that what the DG presented was laughable and unacceptable by proposing just N1 million for the construction of a headquarter building in Abuja.

“It is an act meant to ridicule Nigeria as a country.

“The international community is watching every move Nigeria makes,” he said.

Members of the committee also expressed displeasure over how the government handles the Centre for Oral health.

They noted that leaving funding for important institutions in the country to foreign donors is appalling.

The Director General (DG) of the center, Sani Balarabe, had said during his presentation that the centre was hampered by lack of funding.

According to him, international agencies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), and foreign countries have promised donations.

He said the Centre, which is located in Jos, Plateau State, had been performing below expectation due to the volatility of the area.

He, therefore, called for the prompt establishment of a liaison office in Abuja.

In the same vein, the committee also rejected the proposed budgets of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS) as well as the Inter-country Centre for Oral Health in Africa.

They were sent back to rearrange their documents and return to the committee for fresh defence of their budget proposals.

However, the budget proposals of Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Registration Board of Nigeria (ODORBN) was approved by the committee.