Sam Nda-Isaiah is someone that all of us would like to respect
particularly since the publisher of Leadership newspaper has declared his
intention to run for President under the banner of the All Progessives
Congress (APC). But reading the article of May 26, 2014 in which he
launched an unwarranted attack on the Coordinating Minister of the Economy
and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, in continuation of the
campaign of certain people to pitch the military against the minister
makes one very sad. It is sad because the article shows a fundamental lack
of understanding of how the country’s economy works.
The campaign to knock the heads of the military and the ministry together
will fail because the Federal Ministry of Finance is working
collaboratively with the military authorities to ensure adequate funding
for security in the fight against insurgency.
The Minister’s explanation of the status of the defence budget is already
in the public domain. Security is a key priority of the Jonathan
administration and this is reflected in the fact that almost 20% of the
federal budget is dedicated to it. Between January and April this year, a
total of N130 billion, including salaries, was released to the defence
sector.
In his article, Mr Nda-Isiah wonders if Dr Okonjo-Iweala wants Nigerians
to clap for her for giving information on how much the military received
in the first four months of the year. No she doesn’t. Providing timely and
relevant information on public expenditure is a priority of the Finance
Ministry under her leadership and she does not need any cheers for doing
her job.
Someone who wants to run for president like Mr Nda-Isiah should not reduce
the debate about the management of the country’s resources and finances to
the pedestrian level of “Okonjo-Iweala does not want to release money”. Mr
Nda-Isiah should know that Okonjo-Iweala is not popular in certain circles
in Abuja because she does not dish out money for people to share. She has
never done so and she never will. Being an effective Finance Minister
anywhere is not a popularity contest because doing the right things is
bound to make some people unhappy. And the Minister does not mind doing so
as long as the interest of the majority of honest, hardworking Nigerians
is served and protected.
For the sake of clarity, the Federal Ministry of Finance manages only
those resources that come to it as revenue from major sources:
1. Petroleum resources through NNPC
2. Oil and non-oil taxes through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS)
3. Customs duties through the Nigeria Customs Service
4. IGR from certain MDAs
5. Whatever NASS appropriates as domestic borrowing
It is with these revenues that FMF can attend to the budget as
appropriated. It is the job of the Minister to manage these resources in a
prudent, strategic and sustainable manner to ensure that national
priorities are achieved. She cannot manufacture any money outside these
sources to make the unnamed friends of Mr Nda-Isiah who are complaining
that “things are dry” happy. How does the Finance Minister personally
benefit from not releasing money?
Mr Nda-Isiah needs to appreciate the fact that the interest of the narrow
band of elites whose interest he seems to be championing is not
necessarily the interest of the entire country. The budget is helping to
finance an improving network of federal roads; revived railways; the
foundation of a mortgage industry; new power and aviation infrastructure
and many other important programmes and projects for the country. These
are the real priorities of the vast majority of Nigerians which the
Jonathan administration is working hard to meet, in spite of challenges.
Paul C Nwabuikwu
Special Adviser to the Coordinating Minister and Minister of Fin/