Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport and Senator representing<\/p>\n
Lagos East Senatorial District, Gbenga Ashafa, has explained how the sum
\nof N54billion was smuggled into the 2016 Budget.<\/p>\n
Ashafa in a press statement said while the Lagos-Calabar Rail
\nmodernization project was not included in the original budget from the
\nExecutive, Transport Minister, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, had sent a
\nsupplementary copy of the Transport Ministry’s budget during the budget
\ndefense at the Senate.<\/p>\n
He said the Minister explained to the Senators that the Executive had
\nomitted the Lagos-Calabar Rail Project leaving only the Lagos-Kano in the
\n2016 Budget.<\/p>\n
Senator Ashafa statement reads:<\/p>\n
PRESS RELEASE FROM SENATOR GBENGA ASHAFA ON THE CONTROVERSIES SURROUNDING
\nTHE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTS\u2019S BUDGET<\/p>\n
I have carefully followed the news items making the rounds in relation to
\nthe budget presented to the National Assembly and what was defended by the
\nMinistry of Transport before the Senate Committee on Land Transport which
\nI have the privilege of chairing.
\nThe focal points of controversy seem to be the Lagos to Calabar railway
\nmodernisation projects and the completion of the Idu \u2013 Kaduna rail line.
\nI confirm that the Lagos to Calabar rail line was not in the original
\ndocument that was presented to the National Assembly by the Executive.
\nHowever subsequently at the budget defense session before the Senate
\nCommittee on Land Transport, the Hon. Minister for Transport, Rotimi
\nAmaechi, did inform the committee of the omission of the Lagos to Calabar
\nrail modernisation project and indeed sent a supplementary copy of the
\nministry’s budget to the committee which contained the said project.
\nThe minister noted that the amount needed for the counterpart funding for
\nboth the Lagos to Kano and Lagos to Calabar rail modernisation projects
\nwas in the sum of 120 Billion Naira, being 60 Billion Naira per project.
\nWhile the committee did not completely agree with all the changes made in
\nthe subsequent document, being fully aware of the critical importance of
\nthe rail sector to the development of our dear country, distinguished
\nmembers of the Senate Committee on Land transport keyed into the laudable
\n(Lagos to Calabar, rail modernisation) project and found ways of
\nappropriating funds for the project without exceeding the envelope
\nprovided for the ministry.
\nIn so doing, the committee observed that the Lagos to Kano rail
\nrehabilitation project had been allocated the sum of N52 Billion Naira as
\nagainst the sum of 60 billion which the Hon. Minister requested as
\ncounterpart funding while no allocation whatsoever was made for the Lagos
\nto Calabar rail line.
\nHence, the sum of 54 billion Naira that was discovered by the Senate
\nCommittee on Land Transport to be floating in the budget of the Ministry
\nof Transportation as presented by the Executive was injected into
\naugmenting the funds needed for counterpart funding of both projects
\n(Lagos to Kano and Lagos to Calabar Rail modernisation), as at the time
\nthe committee defended its report before the senate committee on
\nAppropriation. The Lagos to Calabar rail modernisation project was
\ntherefore included in the Senate Committee on Land Transports
\nrecommendation to the Senate Committee on Appropriations.
\nWith regard to the Idu to Kaduna rail completion, the Senate Committee on
\nLand Transport did not interfere with what was provided for in the budget
\nas sent by the executive, being approximately 18 Billion Naira hence I am
\nequally surprised to read on the pages of the newspapers that the amount
\nallocated to the said project was reduced by 8 Billion Naira.
\nWhile I would have preferred to wait till Tuesday 12th April, 2016 when
\nthe National Assembly reconvenes in order to have the benefit of viewing
\nthe details of the budget that was conveyed to the executive as passed, I
\nam compelled to place the facts in proper perspective as it relates to the
\nactivities of the Senate Committee on Land Transport.
\nWithout prejudice to the considerations and powers of the Senate Committee
\non Appropriations with regard to the appropriations process, the foregoing
\nis the true reflection of what transpired at the committee level with
\nrespect to the Land Transport sector of the Ministry of Transport.
\nSenator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos East)<\/p>\n
Chairman Senate Committee on Land Transport<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chairman, Senate Committee on Land Transport and Senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Gbenga Ashafa, has explained how the sum of N54billion was smuggled into the 2016 Budget. Ashafa in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48430,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n