The House of Representatives has announced that it will address the issue of unfunded federal agencies, despite their creation by parliamentary acts and the required appropriations.
Rep. Ibrahim Isiaka, Chairman of the Special Committee on the Restructuring of Federal Agencies, Commissions, and Parastatals, shared this information with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday.
NAN highlighted that several agencies and commissions, including the Nigeria Press Council (NPC) and various entities under the Ministry of Health, have not received their salaries for months.
Isiaka emphasized that no agencies would be merged without the National Assembly’s consent. Agencies created by acts of Parliament will not be merged without amending the original legislation that established them. He noted that only Parliament has the authority to alter or amend such laws, even at the state level.
However, if agencies were created by the federal government without parliamentary approval, the government has the authority to make changes to them without involving the National Assembly.
Isiaka also pointed out that the Federal Government recently introduced a policy on the merger, acquisition, and consolidation of agencies. He stressed that this policy should not lead to a halt in salaries before the policy’s introduction.
He added that affected agencies should present the acts that established them. Many agencies were initially designed to be self-sustaining and not reliant on the Federation Account. If these agencies are now seeking funding from the Federation Account, it must be explicitly authorized by their enabling acts.
The chairman stated that the National Assembly will review the funding structures of these agencies upon resuming from recess. They will examine whether the agencies are included in the national budget and if so, why they are not receiving their allocated funds.
Isiaka assured that the National Assembly would investigate the issue thoroughly. If it is found that agencies that should be funded are not receiving their appropriations, he will bring this issue to the forefront as a motion of urgent national importance, ensuring that it addresses not only the NPC but other affected agencies as well.