Establishing trust funds for govt agencies not ideal – Gbajabiamila

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Thursday said the establishment of various trust funds to accommodate the financial needs of government institutions was not ideal. He said their creation infringed on the responsibility and authority of parliament to make appropriations’ decisions and put pressure on the public finances. Amaechi, El-Rufai want military bases […]

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, Thursday said the establishment of various trust funds to accommodate the financial needs of government institutions was not ideal.

He said their creation infringed on the responsibility and authority of parliament to make appropriations’ decisions and put pressure on the public finances.

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Gbajabiamila said this in his remark at the opening of a two-day public hearing on six bills organised by the House Committee on Interior.

One of the bills under consideration was one which sought to establish a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Trust Fund to address the challenges of funding the corps.

The speaker said while the intent for the establishment of trust funds might be noble, it raised “critical questions about the management of public finances in our country, which we will do well to pay attention to.”

He, however, said the other bills which sought to address the problem of overlapping mandates between the NSCDC and other security institutions would help in addressing the conflicts.

In their separate submissions at the public hearing, representatives of the NSCDC, Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Federal Fire Service and Nigerian Correctional Service backed the establishment of trust funds, saying it would help them with adequate funds to procure necessary equipment and address issues of staff welfare.