As a follow up to revelations that the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) had never received funding as contained in the 2004 National Assembly Acts, the Nigerian Senate has directed the Federal Government of Nigeria to ensure remittance of 1% from the federation account into the coffers of the NASENI.
The Senate gave the directive in line with the extant laws with effect from September this year.
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NASENI Executive Vice Chairman, Professor Mohammed Sani Haruna revealed FG’s underfunding when he made submissions on revenue projections of the agency for the 2021 budget before the Senate’s Joint Committee on Finance and National Planning.
According to Professor Haruna, the agency had never received 1% remittance from the federation account as provided for by the 2004 National Assembly Acts.
The Act establishing the agency provided that NASENI shall draw from the federation account, 1% revenue accruing to the Federal Treasury beginning from the year 2000 yet the agency had never received a dime from the federation account as stipulated by the law.
Alarmed by the revelation, the joint committee led by Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola ( APC Lagos West) ordered the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) Ahmed Idris, to commence the disbursement of 1% allocation from the federation account into the covers for NASENI from September this year.
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“The Act setting up NASENI was the Act of the National Assembly and the Accountant General of the Federation could not be allowed to flout the law.
“Therefore, since the AGF is here, please ensure that the executive starts implementation of the law from September this year because NASENI has potentials to develop and industrialise the Nigerian economy through the core mandates given to it by the extant laws,” he said.
