The House of Representatives has again backed President Bola Tinubu’s directive to Ministries, Departments and Agencies to either deliver on the 2024 budget or get fired.
The lawmakers expressed their willingness to carry out their oversight functions on the MDAs with diligence and dedication to the nation without fear or favour.
Recall that shortly after signing the N28.7tn Appropriation Bill into law, Tinubu informed Nigerians that the MDAs had been properly briefed of the fate that awaited them in the event of failing to run on the same speed with him in the implementation of the budget.
In an exclusive interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, the House Minority Leader, Kinglsey Chinda, stated that the oversight of the 2024 budget would be thorough to ensure that the nation got value for its money.
According to him, the House was working vigorously to downplay the dependence of Committees’ reports on the MDAs they supervise.
He said, “The 10th Assembly is working hard to ensure the independence of the House Committees and discourage dependence of Committees on the MDAs they oversee. Thus, there is an improved provision for Committees in the House budget.
“We are also partnering with Non-Governmental Organisations on aggressive training of members on acceptable oversight practices. This will sharpen the skills of members and secretariat staff of the Committees.”
In a separate interview with our correspondent, House Committee Chairman on Judiciary, Oluwole Oke warned government agencies to remember that the Office of Mr President would be exposed to risk if they failed to deliver on their various budgetary allocations.
