Commendation came the way of Ministry of Petroleum Resources’ Budget Defence Team yesterday for being the “best so far” of the teams which came to defend their 2019 proposed budgets before the Senator Tayo Alasoadura-led Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources.
Senator Alasoadura is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Upstream Petroleum, while the Ministry of Petroleum Resources’ Budget Defence Team was led by the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu ably represented by the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan.
Ministry of Petroleum Resources presented a 2019 budget proposal of N2,961,444,376.00 (Two Billion, Nine Hundred and Sixty-One Million, Four Hundred and Forty-Four Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy-Six Naira for the Senate Committee to consider. The figure represents the proposal for the main Ministry as the Senate Committee wanted the Ministry’s Team to concentrate on the Ministry’s proposal to the exclusion of the Agencies. The Senators who spoke through the Chairman of the Senate Committee for Upstream Petroleum stated that the Agencies and Parastatals of the Ministry have come to face the Committee with their proposals earlier, and may still be required to show up again.
The 2019 budget proposal of N2,961,444,376.00 for the main Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR) is made up of Total Recurrent Cost of N1,420,736,231.00 made up of Personnel Cost of N709,481,154.00 and Overhead Cost of N711,255,077.00 with a Capital Budget proposal of N1,540,708,145.00.
The Head of the Team, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan however, pointed out for the Senators that the Personnel Cost in the 2019 proposed estimates of the Ministry is operated through the Integrated Payment and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) domiciled in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
When the Senate Committee members observed and sought to know what MPR being the regulator of the Agencies which make the funds to support other sectors of the economy is doing to ensure that the expected funds from its Agencies accrue to fund the 2019 National Budget, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan made the Senators to note that there is a fund provision of N251,312,474,000.00 in the 2019 Ministry’s Budget for developing critical managerial competencies including International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) not just for the Ministry but for the Oil and Gas Sector within the relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), the Legislature and the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC). She argued that this provision may not even be enough to do what the Ministry intends to do but it was restricted by the envelope given to it by the Ministry of Budget and National Planning.
On how the Ministry faired with its allocations for 2018, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan explained that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has been engaged in the “7 Big Wins” by which the Ministry has been helping to grow the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry, developing a stable and enabling oil and gas landscape with improved transparency, efficiency, stable investment climate, and a well protected environment especially by ensuring peace in the Niger Delta Area through its inter-Agency group of Ministry of Niger Delta, Niger Delta Development Commission, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.
The Permanent Secretary also disclosed that in 2018, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources also ensured that the National Petroleum Policy and the National Gas Policy which were approved by the Federal Executive Council in 2017 were put into use in the Oil and Gas Sector. By these, Stakeholders were strategically engaged with much of the gains from these already publicized in the achievements of the Ministry up to 2018.
Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan told the Senators that the Ministry also ensured that in 2018 up to the first Quarter of 2019 that Nigeria played its pivotal roles in international and continental Oil and Gas Bodies such as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the African Petroleum Producers Organization through subscription payments and attendance of their congresses.
The Permanent Secretary however disclosed that the Ministry borne much of the brunt of litigations involving the Government of Nigeria in the Oil and Gas Sectors in 2018 and has also made a provision of N200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira) 2019 Capital Budget of the Ministry to show that it is serious with the litigations and of Court decisions.
Olujimi Oyetomi
Deputy-Director, Press
5th April, 2019.
