The “epileptic’’ release of funds to Ministries, Departments
and Agencies may hinder the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) in Nigeria, the House of Representatives Committee on MDGs has said.

The chairman of the committee, Rep. Alhassan Doguwa, stated
this on Friday in Abuja when he led other members on an oversight function to
the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).

Doguwa said the attainment of the MDG’s would be a mirage if
government did not make the required funds available to the MDAs.

He said the members undertook the visit to assess the level
of implementation of MDG projects and also to find out ways they could
intervene to ensure realisation of the goals by 2015.

He expressed regret at the slow pace of intervention in most
of the MDAs the committee visited, saying “government has failed in the funding
of agencies to attain the MDG goals”.

The lawmaker said the committee had realised that meeting
the deadline was unrealistic because of the poor funding of the MDAs saddled
with the responsibility of implementing the projects and had therefore devised
other means of achieving the set goals.

He said it had embarked on a direct intervention to some
local government areas and was ready to pass the required budget to help in the
realisation of the goals.

He called on the commission to request for intervention to
address the priority issues that were militating against the attainment of the
MDGs.

The committee requested further clarification on the
committee’s budget implementation, particularly the Almajiri projects which it
said were not detailed in its presentation.

Responding, the acting Executive Secretary of UBEC, Mr
Lawrence Onocha, said the partial release of funds was hindering the
commission’s mandate in capacity building for teachers as their allowance were
always delayed.

Onocha said such delays often led to a lack of commitment on
the part of the teachers.