Godswill Akpabio, the Senate president, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to dismiss any head of a government agency who refuses to comply with invitations from National Assembly committees.
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Akpabio made this statement during the opening of a public hearing on the 2024–2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) at the Senate. The public hearing aimed to scrutinize the fiscal document alongside the chief executives of government-owned agencies to enhance the national revenue base.
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He emphasized that any minister or agency head invited to discuss the federal government’s economic blueprint who fails to appear is unfit to lead such an agency and should be relieved of their duties.
“Any serious appointee or any head of any agency that is interested in the success of President Bola Tinubu’s administration ought to be here,” Akpabio asserted.
He further requested the list of all agency heads who declined the invitation, stating, “Any head of agency that sends representation here is not a serious person, and therefore the President must take a second look at such a person’s appointment; it is not a threat but the truth.”
Akpabio, who rearranged his schedule to attend the hearing, emphasized the importance of the agencies’ active participation for the success of President Tinubu’s administration.
The approved MTEF/FSP will establish the parameters for next year’s budget preparation, featuring key indicators such as the crude oil price, exchange rate, oil production, debt service, inflation, and GDP growth.
In the proposed 2024 budget, the federal government outlined parameters like a crude oil price of $73.96, an exchange rate of N700/$, oil production at 1.78 million barrels per day, debt service of N8.25 trillion, inflation at 21 percent, and GDP growth at 3.76 percent. The estimated aggregate expenditure for the 2024 budget is N26.01 trillion, encompassing various categories of spending.
