By Musa Baba Adamu
The Managing Director of Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), George Moghalu, yesterday said the agency is ready to opt out of the Federal Government recurrent allocations, comprising both Overhead and Personnel costs.
Declaring that the agency desired to exit from the National Budget, the Managing Director said “We are now poised to opt out of the Recurrent allocation effective from the 2022 Budget, with a view to becoming fully autonomous by 2023.”
He made this known while defending the Authority’s 2022 budget proposal before the Joint Committee of Senate on Marine Transport and House of Representatives Committee on Ports and Harbours/Inland Waterways.
Moghalu noted that as a deliberate policy drive toward attaining financial autonomy, the Authority exited the Overhead allocation in 2020.
He said “Consequently, the Authority in its Year 2022 Proposal accorded priority to the completion of all on-going Projects especially those that align with the new policy objectives of Government’s Medium Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2021-2025 & Nigeria Agenda 2050, thereby improving Private Sector participation and initiating Infrastructural Development within its catchment area.
“It is in the light of this that a Subvention Capital Budget Proposal from the Federal government in the sum of N12,895,057,455.00 and Total IGR Budget Proposal of N21,250,000,000.00 made up of Recurrent Estimates of N10,871,248,790.16 and Capital Estimates of N5,066,251,209.84 and remittance to Consolidated Revenue Fund of N5,312,500,000.00, attached herewith are presented for your favourable consideration and approval.
“Authority is determined more than ever to become fully self-funding by 2023, predicated upon the passage of the NIWA Bill, in so doing, upscaling development of Inland Water Transportation in Nigeria. I therefore seize this opportunity to appeal to the Chairmen, Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of this Committee to use your good offices to ensure a conducive financial and legal environment that will provide the boost needed for the National Inland Waterways to achieve its full potential.
“Let me state that in line with the present government policy thrust of diversifying the economy towards agriculture and solid mineral development, as an alternative to crude/refined oil products and accelerating infrastructural development in the transport sector, MDAs are encouraged to become autonomous or less dependent on the subvention from the Federal government”, Moghalu said.
In their remarks, the senators asked the MD of NIWA to ensure that Federal character is reflected in the recruitment of the personnel, adding that it is worrisome to have an agency presenting zero as its revenue projection in an annual budget in the name of autonomy.
