The Senate on Wednesday urged the National Emergency Management Agency to ensure even distribution of funds appropriated for emergency operations across the six geo-political zones in the country.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Special Duties, Senator Clever Ikisikpo, stated this when the agency defended its 2015 budget at the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
Ikisikpo lamented the lopsided allocation of funds proposed for the agency’s operation in the 2015 budget, and cautioned NEMA to introduce an even distribution in subsequent budget proposals.
The senator said the decision by the agency to embark on skewed allocation of funds for emergency operations across the country was counter productive and was against national interest.
He said, “The agency must from now ensure that when given an envelope, you should distribute the envelope equally to all the zones in the country.
“In a situation where this is not done, it will amount to working against the interest of the nation, and it will not encourage unity.
“We are all Nigerians, and all the zones should benefit from the envelope. Make sure that when you are distributing, all zones must be made to benefit.”
He warned that should nothing be done by NEMA to address the situation, the National Assembly would have no alternative but to make the necessary adjustments to correct the skewed imbalance.
He said, “In last year’s budget, the North-East got little compared to other geo-political zones. I do not see why this should be the case anyway. Now this year, there is nothing for the north east.
“Please, I think NEMA should address this situation or else we at the National Assembly will have no option but to do so ourselves.”
However, the Director General of NEMA, Muhammad Sidi, assured the committee that the agency will expedite action on the directive given towards ensuring that funds allocated to the agency are evenly distributed across the six geo-political zones of the country. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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