2016 Budget: House of Reps Holds Budget Allocation Defense

Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, Nigeria's House Representative Denies Media report

On Tuesday, top officials of Ministries and Agencies in Nigeria appeared before the House of Representatives  to defend their budgetary allocations.

One of the agencies at the defence was the Nigeria Prison Service, which made an appeal for extra budgetary allocation to help it take care of the over 65,000 prisoners in its custody.

The Comptroller General of Prisons, Ezenwa Ekpendu, who represented the agency, said more funding would enable the agency upgrade prison facilities to adequately cater for inmates.

The House of Representatives had suspended plenary for two weeks to allow committees concentrate on the 2016 budget.

Part of the officials of the other ministries that appeared before the lawmakers was the Minister of Environment, Hajia Zainab Ahmed.

At the interactive session, the Minister said Nigeria was predisposed to severe negative impacts of climate change due to lack of proper coordination to mainstream climate change concerns into national development planning process.

Some agencies under the Ministry of Interior were also before the House Committee on Interior to defend their budgets, Other Ministries present are Nigerian Immigration service, Nigeria Railway Coporation represented by Haliru Mohammed whose view at a point resulted into arguments.

The Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi, was also at the hearing.

The investigative hearing panel is expected to submit its findings to the House in plenary for deliberation.

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