…Committee raises eyebrows over ‘huge funds’ on sports kits.
The House of Representatives Committee on Aviation on Thursday asked the Ministry of Aviation and its agencies to give details of their needs as they began the defence of the 2021 budget.
The committee noted that due to the impact of COVID-19 on the aviation sector, the ministry should submit proposals that would adequately address the challenges in the sector.
The ministry has a capital budget of N78.9billion for next year.
The Chairman of the committee, Rep. Nnolim Nnaji, stated this at the National Assembly, Abuja, when the ministry and its agencies opened their budget defence.
Nnaji, who called for full cooperation from the ministry, stated that a realistic budget would help the industry to recover quickly in 2021, adding that all the relevant documents should be made available for scrutiny.
Already, the committee faulted what it called “huge funds” voted for sports kits, which it said was not the responsibility of the ministry.
The chairman warned the ministry to be wary of going against the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission Act.
Speaking while making a comparative analysis of the 2020 budget and the 2021 budget, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, briefed the committee on the 2020 budget started well, but was suddenly hit by the outbreak of COVID-19.