Business
Agency Demands 2% Of Federation Account Allocation
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), has urged the Federal Government to commence release of two per cent of Federation Account allocation to it as stipulated in the Act establishing the agency.
It’s acting Director-General, Dr. Mohammed Haruna, made the call recently in Abuja at a news conference on the agency’s achievements so far.
Haruna said the Act establishing the agency provided that it would be funded by two per cent of the funds accruing to the federation account.
He noted that the continuous dependence on budget allocations had greatly hampered the operations of the agency, which he said, required adequate funding.
“NASENI statutorily has share in whatever accrues to the federation account but that has never been practiced and you know if you attempt to ask for any percentage or any portion from the federation account, the state governments are there; other stakeholders are there and you have opposition all over.
“So, we are lobbying and pleading that this is what the law says and the government of the day, should kindly look at this provision of the law and implement it.
“Two per cent of whatever was accrued to the federation account is due to NASENI by law and we have never received it.”
He said that one of the major challenges facing the science and technology sector in Nigeria was inadequate funding.
Haruna said that with adequate funding, the agency could go a long way in achieving the mandate for which it was set up.
Also speaking at the news conference, the Director of Administration of the agency, Mr Bolakale Abdulraheem, said that the agency was considering other sources of funding given the competition from other government agencies and departments for the scarce resources.
“The decree should be amended for it to be a percentage of the share of the federal government, that is the only way that can guarantee steady flow of revenue to the agency because a situation where we have to depend on annual budget as it is the case now, has not helped the agency.
“We need a sustainable mechanism of funding for us to be able to actualise our mandate and it is only by putting into effect the provisions of our Act that this can be a reality.”