Senators, Reps pick holes with Petroleum Ministry’s 2024 Budget  

.It’s not enough to provide CNG buses -Senate C’ttee Chairman 

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

Senators and members of the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources ( Upstream and Downstream and Gas Resources) have picked holes with the 2024 Budget of the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources

The lawmakers raised issues with the annual budget of the Federal Ministry when the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri and Minsister of State Gas Resources Hon.Ekporikpo Ekpo presented the N9,641,154,830.00 budget at the National Assembly.

The Senate Committee Chairman on Gas Resources Sen.Jarigbe Agom and the House Committee Chairman on Petroleum Upstream Hon.Alhassan Ado Doguwa in their remarks said that the budget is neither here nor there for the oil and gas sector.

Jarigbe who first hit the issue of under ft underfunding after his opening remarks said to that from the documents available to him, the budget is not enough to provide the Compressed Natural Gas CNG buses Nationwide after the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government.

He said that the the N5.8 billion earmarked for the CNG bus project by the federal government is not enough to provide the masses the buses to ease thier movements

He lamented that the Presidential Initiative on CNG is embarking on fund raising to support the take- off of the project.

Also in his speech, Hon Doguwa said that that a situation where other agencies are presenting trillion of naira as budget whereas the petroleum ministry that drives the oil and gas sector in Nigeria is presenting only N9.6 billion is worrisome.

He added that that the Petroleum Resources Ministry must not tie itself to the envelope system of budgeting adopted by the federal government.

Some other committee members who who spoke at the budget session as Senator Ifeanyi Uba (Anambra, APC) and  Hon. Donald Ojogo (Ondo, APC) also said that the budget should be reworked to address the many issues in the oil and gas sector.

Ojogu said that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources is lethargic about the opportunities in the Petroleum Industry Act and advised the government officials to put in more investments  in assets and portfolios.

Earlier, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Sen.Heneken Lokpobiri and his State conterpart for Gas Resources Mr Ekperikpo Ekpo presented the 2023 budget review and the 2024 budget estimates of the ministry before the lawmakers.

Lokpobiri said that a total of N9,641,154,830.00 is the total budget for the main ministry and it’s agencies for the 2024 fiscal year.

He added that personnel cost is put at N1,062,528,852.00, overhead N3,180,645,960.00 and capital is N5,397,980.18 for the same budget for consideration and seek for its approval.