The House of Representatives has directed the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Agency (ICRC), Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and National Sugar Development Council (NSDC), to provide detailed records of their revenues and expenditures.
This directive was issued during an interactive session on budget performance, with the House Committee on Finance on Tuesday in Abuja.
The Committee requested that the ICRC present records of all concessionaires and the fees charged since 2008. This followed a presentation by Shehu Sani Danmusa, representing the Director General, Dr. Jobson Ewalefoh.
Chairman of the Committee, Rep. James Faleke, faulted the agency’s presentation, highlighting inconsistencies in revenue and expenditure details, and stressed the need for comprehensive reports aligned with financial standards.
During the session, Chairman NERC, Sanusi Garba explained the agency’s income sources, primarily from the electricity market.
He stated, “The law allows us to prepare a budget and take just enough from the market to fund our operations.” However, Rep. Faleke questioned this approach, asking, “What is ‘just enough’? We need exact figures to determine your revenue.”
The Chairman emphasized that NERC, as a self-funded agency, must adhere to rules on deductions and remittances, and Director of Finance confirmed that 80 percent of their operating surplus is remitted to the consolidated revenue fund.
But Rep. Faleke insisted on more transparency, stating, “How do we determine surplus if your income is unclear? You seem to be hiding something.”
The Committee also examined the expenditure of NSDC, this is as members criticized frivolous spending on foreign travel and office renovations, while core responsibilities in the sugar sector were neglected.
in response, the Director General, Kamal Bakari said that the agency relies on the Sugar Levy for funding, alongside VAT and withholding tax revenues remitted to the FIRS. But the Committee demanded for clearer records, particularly regarding the Outgrower Support Fund.
In his ruling, Faleke noted that Nigeria lags behind countries like Brazil in sugar production and by-product utilization, and there directed NSDC to provide comprehensive data for better assessment of its budget performance.
Other agencies in attendance were similarly instructed to submit detailed financial records.
The Committee also resolved to form an adhoc committee to review the budget performance of the Securities and Exchange Commission.