2024 BUDGET: OSHIOMHOLE KICKS AGAINST ONE BILLION FOREIGN TRIP PROPOSED BY THE MINISTRY OF TRADE

Members of the Joint National Assembly Committee on Industry, Trade and Investment tackled the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Nkiruka-Anite, yesterday over her Ministry's proposal to spend N1bn to travel abroad next year.

To defend her Ministry's 2024 budget, the Minister at the National Assembly said the N1 billion would be spent on a trip to Geneva in 2024.

The proposal by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment was captured in the budget document submitted to the Committees, which elicited reactions from members, who felt the amount was outrageous and out of tune with the mandate of her office.

The Minister was asked to address the panel, speak to the document, and explain the performance of the 2023 budget before seeking fresh funds.
The Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District and former Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, raised concern over the Minister's plan to embark on a trip to Geneva with a proposed N1 billion.

Oshiomhole said the Minister should use experts in her offices to achieve results rather than embarking on a trip that would gulp such a humongous amount of money.

"I see that you intend to travel to Geneva next year, and you have budgeted over one billion. We can't keep going on with overblotted teams on trips abroad. Use the experts we have in your offices in those countries to save cost," he said.

Oshiomhole also noted that the Minister was not always available in office to discharge her responsibilities, revealing that she was always at the Bank of Industry.

He said she should have made her preference for BOI known to President Tinubu before she was appointed Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment."

"Madam, sit in your office and work for Nigerians. I have gone there twice. You are always in the BOI. If you preferred BOI, you should have declined the President's nomination to be Minister.

"Let's practice what we preach. We can't talk about industrialisation and keep importing toothpicks and tyres. We must ensure that we have homegrown products," he said.

Oshiomhole said the Minister was not doing enough and asked if the Ministry knew the nation's trade balance with other business transactional countries.

She responded, "I assure you that I can work from anywhere and give Nigerians results. My office is currently under renovation. Sir, we seem to have no record of our balance of trade.

"Or at least it doesn't exist in the Ministry, and that is why we initiated a new unit called the Trade Intelligence Unit to ensure that such data are generated and stored."

But Oshiomhole insisted that there was data at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Customs Service, NCS and other agencies, which the Ministry has failed to access.

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