Three federal ministries – Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development; Police Affairs and Special Duties, and Intergovernmental Affairs have been operating without budgetary allocations in the last three months.
The Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development was created in August during the inauguration of the present ministers by President Muhammadu Buhari, while Police Affairs and Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs were reintroduced after four years of proscription.
Sa’adiya Umar-Faruq, minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, made this known Monday during defence of the 2020 budget before the House of Representatives Committee on IDPs and Refugee in Abuja.
Umar-Faruq said though the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, had sent a memo to the President to provide take-off grant to the new Ministries, that was yet to be done, hence they had been operating without funding.
The minister informed the House Committee that the maiden budget of the Ministry was N44.272 billion, comprising N39.784 billion for recurrent expenditure and N4.51 billion as capital expenditure.
She assured that the Ministry was committed towards lifting 90 million in extreme poverty across the country, as the 2020 budget targeted the creation of Unified Social Register to take care of vulnerable people in the society.
Also at the defence of the 2020 budget, Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Basheer Mohammed said, N1.640 billion, consisting of N529.421 million recurrent expenditure and N1.111 billion capital expenditure was proposed.
Chairman of the Committee, Mohammed Jega, applauded President Buhari for creating the Ministry with a view to addressing the numerous humanitarian challenges confronting the citizenry as a result of insurgency, arm bandits and other humanitarian challenges affecting the country.
“We are therefore poised for a collaborative action with the Executive arm of government to ensure that we design a performing budget that will meet the expectations of the teeming populace,” Jega said.
James Kwen, Abuja
