The Senate on Wednesday disclosed that it would endorse the Oronsanye report on rationalisation of government agencies to boost revenue generation for national development.
This was made known by the Chairman Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Olamilekan while addressing heads of government agencies at the ongoing interactive session on the 2023-2025 medium term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper in Abuja.
He said that implementation of the report would help the dire revenue situation of the country.
He said, “There is no way, with the current economic situation that we will not implement Oronsanye’s report, it is part of the report that some staff will stay while others have to go because government can no longer continue to fund agencies that are liabilities and government cannot continue to be a father Christmas “.
Senator Adeola however disclosed that any government agency that generates enough revenue toward national development would not be affected by the rationalisation.
He also disclosed that MDAs risk zero budget allocation in 2023 budget over the non appearance of their Chief Executives at Senate interactive session to give their inputs on the 2023-2025 MTEF-FSP.
“This is the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we have the right to summon anybody and we can as well take it that when you don’t appear, it means you do not need allocation in the 2023 budget,” Olamilekan said.
Adeola also took a swipe at the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari for failing to honour the invitation by the committee to clarify some vital issues as regard crude oil production, fuel subsidy, local fuel consumption among others.
The lawmaker said that the NNPC Liaison Officer claimed that since the agency is now a limited liability company, therefore the Senate has no legal backing to summon the agency.
In his reaction, the committee chairman said that the law passed by the National Assembly only empowers the NNPC to be an active participant in the oil industry, adding that the Federal Government still owns the agency 100 per cent until there are major investors in the agency.
“We will summon you and invite you at any hour, we need your attention, you are a limited liability company by our law. We change your status because we want you to be an active participant in the oil industry.
“Call your Liaison Officer and correct the impression by him that NNPC is owned by the Federal government and you remain accountable to the federal government,” he stressed.
The NNPC GMD was later directed to appear before the committee on Thursday.