By Haruna Salami
The Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Mine, Steel Development and Metallurgy, descended heavily on the executive for forwarding to the National Assembly on yearly basis , envelope budgeting for approval.
It also frowned at the way and manner the Ajaokuta Steel Company, ASC has been abandoned through non-provision of required budgetary votes on yearly basis.
The anger of the committee members on the envelope budgeting and abandonment of ASC was triggered by proposed N23.4 billion 2022 budget estimates enveloped for the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development as presented by the Minister of State, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah.
Dr. Ogah who represented the Minister , Arch Olamilekan Adegbite in his presentation , said out of the N23.4 billion budget profile for the Ministry in 2022, N10 billion is for personnel cost , N1.47billion for overhead cost and N11billion for capital Projects .
Irked by the presentation , members of the committee, one after the other, decried the meagre budgetary allocation for the sector which according to them, should rank second after the oil and gas sector .
Specifically, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Tanko Al- Makura (Nasarawa South) said “the yearly ritual called budget is garbage in garbage out, which will not take the country to anywhere as far as required diversification is concerned .
“The type of budgeting process being carried out in this country over the years is stereotypic one . It is wrong for budget to be conceptualised in the ministry, enveloped and forward to the National Assembly for approval”.
Speaking in the same vein, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said “we need to start looking at mode of preparing budget” adding “a good budget must not be just for expenditure, but must target wealth creation and for acceleration of social development”
He said the kind of budgetary system that we have is not democratic, it is inherited from the military. Democratic budget allows inputs from nooks and crannies of the country on national interest.
Using his state as an instance, Adeyemi said “if had asked us in Kogi state; what is our priority in 2022, it would be Ajaokuta Steel Company. It is not only for our interest, but for the nation at large.
He wondered how to justify a minister asking the Senate to approve N82 billion for mosquito nets, adding that “this amount can make appreciable development in the iron and steel company.
He is convinced that “the economic team of President Buhari is not in tune with the realities of this country, adding “the minister that is looking for N82 billion for mosquito nets should be sent to jail”.
We need to have a ministry for steel development in Nigeria. Kaduna just completed a plant for steel development.
“I don’t see any economic team preparing a budget without looking at job/wealth creation in a nation where we have large number of unemployed youth and the economic team is not looking for how to improve foreign exchange rates.
He said the Ajaokuta Steel Company, ASC that can help to galvanize socio-/economic aspect is left out of the budget.
“Steel company is fundamental to socio-economic development, technological growth and wealth creation of the country
