The Senate on Thursday queried the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (retd.), on the insertion of N11 billion in the proposed 2023 budget of the Defence Ministry.
The query was raised during the budget defence of the Ministry of Defence before the Senate Committee on Defence.
The N11 billion extra, as observed and pointed out by the Vice Chairman of the committee, Senator Itsifanus Gyang, comprises of N8.6 billion earmarked for the procurement of military hardware/equipment and N2.25 billion for Safe School Initiatives.
Gyang said: “Honourable Minister, in the proposed 2023 budget of your Ministry, N8.6 billion is discovered to have been allocated for the purchase of military hardware and N2.25 billion for Safe School Initiatives.
“The two items, when critically viewed, were not supposed to be in the ministry’s budget since hardware procurements are done by the Army, Navy and Air Force and Safe School Initiative by the Federal Ministry of Education.
“These to us are duplications of budgetary votes, which require explanations from you.”
The Minister in his response sought permission from the committee for the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Ibrahim Kana, to respond.
The Permanent Secretary in his response told the committee that the sums were added to the Ministry’s budget for the 2022 fiscal year by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed.
Kana said: “The two budgetary votes were not initiative of the ministry.
“The Ministry of Finance and National Planning put them there.”
The Committee, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wammako, was not satisfied with the response of the Permanent Secretary.
The committee therefore told Magashi that both the N8.6 billion and N2.25 billion proposals for the procurement of hardware and Safe School Initiatives would be expunged from the ministry’s budget.
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