2024 Budget: NAFDAC, NUPRC, 5 Others Set Aside N80.9bn For Welfare

Wale Edun, Minister of Finance

REGARDLESS the country's increasing fiscal deficits, mounting debt, and general hardship, the Nigerian government's persistent inability to maintain transparency in the revenue generation and remittance process by entities classified as Government-owned Enterprises (GOEs) has continued to grow an existential revenue leakage.

There are reports that the privileged few in charge of those establishments have an unfair advantage when it comes to using the nation's wealth for discretionary purposes, even when compared to their counterparts in the same public sector, because the government has not acted to hold the GOEs accountable in an aggressive or effective manner.

The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulation Commission (NUPRC), which voted N50.4 billion for welfare packages alone in the 2024 fiscal year, stands at the top of the chart table. Interestingly, NUPRC would vote N65.20 billion for staff expenses in the year under review in addition to other budgetary votes for extravagance.

Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), each receiving N6.67 billion, are next in line. The NDIC has allocated N21.99 billion for miscellaneous expenditures, of which N5.3 billion will be used for workers' welfare alone in 2024.

According to reports, the Budget Office of the Federation used its close ties with the National Assembly to secure the greatest allocation of N920.301 billion for miscellaneous expenses.

The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) appears to have even started spending the N1.164 billion allocated for miscellaneous, while Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) has also been granted N2.5 billion for welfare packages with no information provided about how it will be used.

The Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), for its part, is collecting N1.224 billion in welfare benefits for employees who already receive N978.57 million in earnings in excess of allowances.

Under the guise of revenue-generating organizations, the GEOs are able to deliberately retain a portion of revenue as collection costs, so enriching themselves at the expense of the government and depriving Nigerians of their rightfully earned cash.

For example, the National Pension Commission (PenCom) is expected to spend N2.8 billion on a vague miscellaneous aside the N342.6 million that is earmarked for welfare packages in 2024 alone, after taking a whopping N15,131,971,394.22 billion for staff allowances, N10,449,982,489.32 billion as personnel cost for its relatively slim staff payroll, and N1,806,781,323 billion to purchase office building at a time many government (seized) assets are left to rot away. Apart from other dubious spending, that is.

In the budget year, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has additionally allocated N1.4 billion for other expenses.

Additionally, the total expenditure for the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in 2024 would be N24,704,730,325.78. Nigeria would pay N16,173,855,919.44 for its employees' salaries in the year under review. In addition, the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) would receive N39.6 million for welfare packages, while the agency will collect N2,429,660.25 for the same purpose.

Other entities include the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), with N25,419,200 million; National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), with N129.991 million; National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), with N367,500,000; National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF), with N691,990,785.32 set aside for miscellaneous items alone; and the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), with N8.76 million as welfare package.

A closer examination of the GOE budgets shows that the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) has set aside N73.8 million for staff welfare, while the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) will spend N350 million. The Oil & Gas Free Zone Authority would receive N126.9 million for staff welfare.

The national treasury will provide N891,240,537.18 million to the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for worker welfare. For the same personnel, NIS will receive a total of N79,860,915,182 billion.70 is the pay.

N10,427,878.75 million of the N 1,854,983,014 billion in income that the Nigeria Integrated Water Management Commission (NIWMC) is estimated to generate will go toward an unidentified personnel welfare package.

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), which receives N100 million for welfare packages after deducting N25.63 billion from the federation account, has granted N925,976,298.50 million for the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NIMET) as well.

The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) will deduct N796.6 million for other costs from the N1.45 billion in anticipated earnings.

The Nigerian government sets aside N200 million for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) and N385 million for Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) to provide welfare packages out of an anticipated N463.4 billion in earnings.

The following are additional agencies: N449.87 million for social benefits from Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); N87.5 million from Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN); N186.0 million from Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC); N8 million from Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON); N120 million from National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS); N10.83 million from National Film and Video Censors Board; N746.4 from National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); and N491.16 million from National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC);

The following organizations have contributed money: Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), N953.73 million; Nigerian Communication Satellite Ltd (NIGCOMSAT), N6.4 million; Nigerian Copyright Communication, N45.85 million; Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), N50 million; Lagos International Trade Fair Complex Management Board, N7.9 million; Financial Reporting Council (FRC), N105.94 million; Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), N950.0 million.

The remaining entities are the N3.3 million Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and the N250 million Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

He said, “It appears to me that at this critical junction in our national economics, the government still builds official channels of corruption into governance structure. How do you measure disbursement or impact of such huge amounts of money tagged 'welfare'?

“The irony is that with this profligacy, we are still borrowing from foreign institutions. How do borrow to fund inefficiencies?”

Mr. Adebayo Adeleke, the group executive chairman of Lancelot Group, responded to the outrageous welfare spending at a time when Nigeria is experiencing a budget deficit and growing levels of both internal and external debt by stating that such spending merely acts as a haven for corruption.

Similarly, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), according to an unidentified member, is not persuaded by such general budget estimates.

In order to ensure proper accountability, he demanded an accurate breakdown of what these MDAs classify as welfare.

“We expect the government and each agency to spell out their own allocation for workers' welfare. In fact, whether it is much or little, we cannot comment on such because it is not well spelt out. We are aware that some people in the name of workers' welfare are diverting such funds into their private pockets to the detriment of Nigerian workers.

“Nigerian workers are shortchanged while some few people are hiding under the names of ministries and agencies to corner the money meant for them. In order to have proper accountability, each agency or budget ministry should specify what is meant for each department,” he pointed out.