The Senate has issued a warning to President Bola Tinubu, urging him to refrain from illegal spending and instead seek a supplementary budget for his Compressed Natural Gas initiative.
According to The PUNCH, this caution was conveyed by the Senate’s Committee on Gas, led by Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe.
The Senate has called upon the executive branch of government to promptly present a 2023 Supplementary Budget to the National Assembly to initiate the Compressed Natural Gas project.
This request comes shortly after President Tinubu announced measures to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal on Nigerians.
Emphasizing the importance of adhering to budgetary regulations, the lawmakers stressed that extra-budgetary spending is in violation of the law.
While commending Tinubu for his CNG initiative, Chairman Jarigbe Jarigbe also cautioned against unauthorized spending of taxpayers’ money or funds without approval from the National Assembly for projects related to the gas value chain.
Furthermore, the senators advised against extra-budgetary expenditures through ‘Ways and Means,’ asserting their readiness to support initiatives aimed at alleviating the challenges faced by the people.
Senator Jarigbe Jarigbe acknowledged President Tinubu’s efforts in promoting the CNG revolution for vehicle power.
He said, “The noble initiative would ameliorate the hardship of the citizens. Also, the President needs to come up with a supplementary budget to enable the government to fund the gas value chain, including the provision for CNG infrastructure and CNG vehicles.”
He also suggested that CNG adoption workshops and training would need to be supported.
“The President should not embark on extra-budgetary expenditure because it would be inconsistent with the provisions of the law.”
Jarigbe remarked that the National Assembly, led by Senate President Godswill Akpabio, was ready to back Tinubu’s high programmes.
He stated that a 2023 supplementary budget would be preferable to the previous administration’s ‘Ways and Means’ strategy, which had remained a key source of disagreement in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
In his Independence speech, President Buhari stated that he will work to ease Nigerians’ hardships.
Tinubu had said, “A Nigeria where hunger, poverty and hardship are pushed into the shadows of an ever fading past.
“We have opened a new chapter in public transportation through the deployment of cheaper, safer CNG buses across the nation. These buses will operate at a fraction of current fuel prices, positively affecting transport fares.
“New CNG conversion kits will start coming in very soon as all hands are on deck to fast track the usually lengthy procurement process.”
