This is over 30 percent of money budgeted for the same items in the 2023 budget and reflects a lack of fiscal prudence at the agency in alignment with the austerity measures that govern President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision for a new Nigeria.
A breakdown of the budget shows that under general office expenses with office cleaning, office fumigation, waste/sewage removal and operational contingency, NIMASA will spend the sum of N1.413 billion in the referenced financial year.
Further study of the document showed that the sum of N2.13 billion was earmarked for maintenance of operational vehicles which include fueling (N700 million); Quarterly maintenance allowance of operational vehicles (N280 million per quarter or N1.12 billion a year); tyres and other vehicle accessories (N66 million), general repairs and maintenance (N103.95 million); refurbishment of vehicles (N100million); registration and renewal of vehicle particulars (N13.2 million); drivers’ uniform (N16.45); security tracker for vehicles (N6m); and hiring of vehicles for official assignments (N5m).
The document also showed that NIMASA would be spending N900 million for maintenance of London office, up from N500 million budgeted last year.
The agency also jacked up its budget for operational expenses and imprest from N600 million in 2023 to N760 million in 2024, the documents showed.
Our reporter gleaned from the document that NIMASA budgeted the whopping sum of N2.4 billion for maintenance and operation of generating sets, broken down as follows: Fuelling and lubricating of generating sets (N2.1 billion), and maintenance of generating sets (N300 million).