 The House is scrutinizing the 2012 budget.
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House of Representatives quizzes Finance Minister
Latifat Afegbua, Abuja
The leadership of House of Representatives has queried the sum of one hundred and fifty-five billion naira included by Federal Government in the 2012 budget proposal for payment of fuel subsidy arrears, including the one point three trillion spent as at September 2011.
Chairman of the ad-hoc committee on Subsidy Removal, Alhaji Faruk Lawan during a meeting, asked Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance to provide the bank statements, details of quantum of crude oil extracted, volume of PMS consumed per day and other relevant documents on the payment of fuel subsidy from Federal Ministry of Finance.
The committee also requested for the document of the unilateral withdrawal of revenues generated from the Joint Venture Cash Calls by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) without recourse to the National Assembly.
Mr. Elias Mbam, chairman, Revenue Mobilization and Fiscal Mobilization Commission in the document presented to the adhoc committee during the investigative sitting, disclosed that the management of subsidy was not clearly defined between the NNPC, PPPRA, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Ministry of Finance.
In her presentation, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who frowned at the spate of corruption in the administration of subsidy regime and operations of revenue generating agencies, disclosed that President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the setting up of a committee to ensure that all revenues generated are remitted into the federation account.
The minister is expected to appear again before the committee on Thursday at the National Assembly.
Ugo
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