The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives has queried the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, over reported extra-budgetary expenditure of billions of naira.
The Hon. Yusuf Buba Yakub-led panel during a budget defence session with the Ministry on Wednesday, accused the minister of becoming a law unto himself by refusing to adhere to the dictates of the Appropriation Act, citing the refusal by Missions and Embassies to constitute their Tender Boards, as well as failure to render account of their administrative charges as one of the breaches.
The committee Chairman in his remarks said; “One is therefore surprised and, indeed, it beats every logic that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has deliberately refused to abide by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and by other statutes of the land, including the Standing Orders of the House.
“The question this Committee is asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs is: Is he bigger than Nigeria and its laws? Or how else will one explain the constant flagrant abuse of the laws of the land even when we have continued to write letters to the Ministry reminding it of relevant provisions of our laws that demand abiding by…..
“Being aware that administrative charges have been approved at the Missions by Mr President, this Committee, in line with Section 80 (3 and 4) CFRN (As Amended) has also observed that in total disregard to what the law says, the Minister has continued to authorise the spending of monies generated through administrative charges at the Missions without being appropriated by the National Assembly.”
The committee subsequently resolved not consider the 2023 appropriation proposal of the Ministry until it directs all Missions to abide by Section 10 of the 2022 Appropriations Act (as Amended), directing the ministry to furnish the National Assembly with the 2023 budget proposals in respect to targeted revenues from administrative charges at the missions.
The minister however absolved himself.
“We have never flouted the law in anyway. I have never signed any document in respect to the disregard of the parliament,” he said, pointing out that various charges filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on the issues, and pledged to provide evidence to substantiate his position on the issues raised by the committee.