The House of Representatives say it would take up cases of unfunded agencies by the Federal Government, in spite of the requisite appropriation and their creation by the Act of parliarment.
Rep. Ibrahim Isiaka, Chairman, Special Committee on the Restructuring of Federal Agencies, Commissions and Parastatals, said this in Abuja on Thursday.
Some agencies and commissions, such as the Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and other agencies under the Ministry of Health, had not received salaries for some months. The chairman of the committee had earlier said that no agencies would be merged without the consent of the national assembly.
Isiaka said that agencies or commissions created by the Act of Parliament would not be merged without recourse to amendments of the Act that created them.
“This is the position of the law, and the only arms of government that can alter or amend the law is the parliament, even at the state level,” he said.
He, however, said that if such agencies are mere departments created by the government and did not pass through the parliament, the Federal Government had the power to alter them.
The lawmaker said that this could be done without recourse to the national assembly. He said that the Federal Government t came out with a policy recently on the issue of merger, acquisition, and subsuming of agencies.
The chairman said that the pronouncement by government should not mean that it has stopped their salaries before coming out with the policy.
“Away from that, any agency concerned should bring the Act that established it because there are so many agencies that were created.
“At the time of their creation, due to the exigency of time and for the purpose they were created, they were not meant to take money from the Federation Account.
He said that there was a need to look at the funding structure of such an agency, adding that some agencies were created with the promise that they would be self-sufficiently funded.
The chairman said that the agencies must have run out of money and would want to collect money from the federation account.
He said that this was not possible except the law recognised it by including it in their Act.
Isiaka said that the National Assembly would take the matter up as soon as it resumes from recess.
“The Act that created the agencies should be looked into and the funding structure should be checked. Where are they supposed to draw funding from?
“If they are on the national budget and have been appropriated for, why won’t they be funded,” he said.
He said that the National Assembly, based on findings and a critical look at the Act with relevant funding sections, would look at the matter.
The chairman said that if such agencies were to be funded but were not, that shows that they had crossed the first hurdle.
“If there is also provision for them in the appropriation and they are not receiving money, that is another leg to be looked upon into,”he said.
“Once we are able to clear these hurdles, I will personally take that up and make it a motion of urgent national importance. I will make it all inclusive and not only for the NPC,” he said.
