ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The House of Representatives Committee on Science and Engineering on Thursday suspended consideration of the 2026 budget proposal of the National Centre for Technology Management, deepening tensions between lawmakers and the agency’s leadership.
At a budget defence session in Abuja, the committee resolved to step down the review of the proposal, delete the agency’s allocation from the 2026 Appropriation Bill and recommend the immediate removal of its Director-General, Dr Olushola Odusanya, for failing to appear before the panel.
Lawmakers also expressed anger over the DG’s failure to submit required documents for legislative scrutiny.
The session was presided over by the committee’s Chairman, Mr Inuwa Garba, who represents Yamaltu/Deba Federal Constituency of Gombe State.
Garba said it was unacceptable for any presidential appointee to treat an invitation from the legislature as optional, particularly during budget defence season.
“If the President were here to present the budget proposal, I don’t see why any of his appointees would ignore the invitation from the parliament to field questions on the past budget and the new one,” he said.
He warned that the committee would not tolerate actions perceived as disrespectful to the Constitution, the legislature or democratic governance.
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“Let it be stated that this committee will not condone any act perceived in any way to be disrespectful to the Constitution, the legislature, or democratic governance under any guise,” Garba added.
He noted that the committee’s action should serve as a deterrent to other heads of agencies contemplating similar conduct.
The development highlights recurring friction between ministries, departments and agencies and the National Assembly during budget cycles. Lawmakers have frequently complained about agency heads failing to honour invitations, delegating junior officials without notice or neglecting to provide supporting documents on time.
Committees have, at various times, threatened to slash allocations, suspend consideration of proposals or recommend sanctions against erring officials.
Under the Constitution, the power of appropriation rests with the National Assembly, while MDAs are required to account for previous releases and justify fresh spending proposals before funds are approved.
In a related development, the committee also scrutinised the 2025 budget performance and 2026 proposal of the Nigerian Council of Food Science and Technology.
Lawmakers raised concerns over the council’s low Internally Generated Revenue, which stood at about N385,000 in 2024 and N285,860 in 2025.
They also questioned the sharp rise in overhead costs, which increased from N95.40m in 2025 to N195.73m in the 2026 proposal.
Responding, the council’s Registrar, Mrs Veronica Nkechi-Eze, said its revenue was derived solely from registration fees and annual professional dues.
According to her, the council charges N5,000 for registration and N2,000 as annual dues from about 10,000 members.
She, however, admitted she could not explain the significant jump in overhead costs, noting that the increase was not part of the estimates initially submitted to the Budget Office.
Garba ruled that the issues raised would be revisited after further engagement with the agency before a final decision is taken.